Exercises  in  Commemoration 


-OF     THE- 


CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY 


— OF     THE — 


First  Congregational  Chureh, 


OF    WESTMORELAND,    N.    Y., 


Tuesday,  September  20th,   1892. 


CLINTON,  N.  Y., 

J.  B.  &  H.  B.  SYKES,  PRINTERS, 
1893. 


3.2.1,93 


*H 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


* 


Presented   by    Rev.  L.  A.  Sawyer 


r 


Division 


BXll  SO 


Section    .•VV..G.3  V" 

A3 


Exercises  in  Commemoration 


OF     THE 


CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY 


-OF     THE — 


7irst  Congregational  Church, 


OF    WESTMORELAND,    N.    Y., 


Tuesday,  September  20th,    1892, 


CLINTON,  N.  Y., 

J.  B.  &  H.  B.  SYKES,  PRINTERS, 
1893- 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 


Programme. 


Morning  Service,  10  o'clock. 

Deacon  James  W.  Manktelow,  Moderator. 

Singing. 

Invocation. 


Scripture  Lesson,  Prayer, 
Address  of  Welcome, 
Response, 


"Church  of  the  Future," 
Benediction, 


Singing. 
Singing. 


Rev.  Samuel  Manning. 
Pastor,  Rev.  W.  C.  Jones. 
Rev.  C.  C.  Johnson, 
East  Bloomfield.  N.  Y. 

Rev.  Samuel  Miller, 
Deansville,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  F.  B.  Stanford, 
Westmoreland.  X.  Y. 


Afternoon  Service,  1:30  o'clock 
Singing. 
Reading  Scripture,  and  Prayer, 


Church  History. 


Rev.  O.  A.  Kingsbury, 
New  Hartford,  N.  Y. 
Edward  Loomis,  M.  D. 
Oneida.  N.  Y. 


Prayer. 
Singing,  Hymn  475. 
Centennial  Poem,        -  Thomas  E.  McEntee. 

Letters  from  the  Absent,  Read  by  James  Bell, 

Secretary. 
Addresses,  Deacon  J.  S.  Bliss,  Rev.  L.  A.  Sawyer,  Rev.  C.  W.  Hawley, 

Rev.   P.  S.   Pratt,  and  others. 
Address,  -  -  -  M.  E.  Dunham,  D.  D. 

Singing. 
Benediction. 


Praise  Service. 


Evening  Service,  7  o'clock. 


Addresses. 
Address — Unwritten  History, 
Singing — "Blessed  be  the  Tie  that  Binds." 

Benediction. 


Led  by  H.  M.  Dixon, 
Smyrna,  N.  Y. 

-     Rev.  Ethan  Curtis. 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 


Address  of  Welcome. 


BY  THE  PASTOR,  WM.  CERDYNOG  JONES,  PH.  D. 


Fclloiv  Christians: — In  the  name  of  this  church  and  society 
I  extend  to  all  pastors,  delegates  and  friends  a  hearty  wel- 
come to  our  midst;  a  hearty  welcome  to  assist  us  in  our 
centennial  anniversary;  and  a  hearty  welcome  to  our  homes 
and  tables. 

Very  few  churches  live  to  see  one  hundred  years  in  the 
same  place  where  they  were  organized.  It  has  fallen  unto 
the  lot  of  this  church  to  receive  this  blessing.  Although 
apparently  old,  yet  young,  having  all  the  vigor  of  youth  at 
the  close  of  its  one  hundredth  year. 

We  stand  to-day  on  the  verge  of  two  centuries;  one  dies, 
another  is  born.  We  know  from  history  what  has  been  the 
destiny  of  the  one  that  passes  by.  What  of  the  new  one, 
the  child  that  is  born  to-day?  It  needs  more  than  a  poet  of 
humanity  to  reveal  its  future  career.  When  this  church  was 
organized  fifteen  noble  men  and  women  came  forward  to 
consecrate  their  lives  for  good  in  this  community.  In  this 
it  has  not  been  in  vain.  The  small  seed  of  organization  has 
grown  and  has  been  of  greater  influence  than  we  are  able  to 
comprehend.  This  church,  like  many  others  of  its  age,  has 
had  its  share  of  influence  in  moulding  the  life  and  character 
of  this  nation.  That  influence  may  be  very  small  in  compar- 
ison with  larger  organizations.  However  small  it  may  have 
been  in  its  beginnings  it  has  gone  on  progressing  and  in- 
creasing in  power.  Its  influence  has  been  felt  far  and  near, 
in  foreign  lands,  the  isles  of  the  sea,  as  well  as  at  home. 
Preachers,  teachers,  deacons  and  laymen  have  gone  from 
here,  carrying  with  them  the  precious  truths  of  the  gospel. 

The  few  that  organized  this  society  were  staunch  believers 
in  the  old  puritan  faith  and  in  purity  of  life.  Moving  into 
this  place  when   it  was  almost    a    solitary   wilderness;    sur- 


4  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

rounded  by  hardships  and  discouragements  unimagined  by 
us,  yet  hardships  and  discouragements  did  not  quench 
their  zeal  for  worship.  Sabbath  after  Sabbath  families  con- 
gregated together,  those  at  a  far  distance  either  walked  or 
came  with  ox  teams.  For  seven  years  they  worshipped  in 
dwelling  houses,  when  this  edifice  was  built.  A  few  years 
afterward  this  church  entered  upon  its  records  a  pledge  of 
total  abstinence  "from  all  strong  drink,"  which  was  a  very 
bold  act  in  those  days.  At  the  very  outset  this  church  had  a 
ring  of  aggressiveness  and  it  has  not  diminished  even  to  this 
day.  Truly  it  has  been  "tried  in  the  fire"  at  various  times. 
Yet  it  has  had  its  time  of  refreshing  in  its  most  precious  re- 
vivals, and  to-day  we,  who  are  members  of  this  church,  can 
say  that  "everything  worketh  together  for  good."  At  pres- 
ent this  church  is  in  good  spiritual  condition,  harmonious, 
in  good  working  order,  and  greatly  encouraged.  During 
every  communion  season  this  year,  accessions  have  been 
made,  and  others  are  waiting. 

This  church  has  been  an  eye-witness  of  rapid  strides  that 
have  been  made  in  various  ways.  What  Christian  civ- 
ilization has  done  for  the  world  within  the  last  one  hundred 
years  I  can  barely  suggest  to  you  to-day.  When  we  think 
of  navigation,  and  the  printing  press,  the  steam  engine  and 
railroad,  the  telegraph  and  phonograph,  the  telephone  and 
typewriter,  and  causing  electricity  to  be  such  a  common 
servant.  Think  of  the  growth  of  this  nation  and  the  world's 
increase  in  power  and  knowledge.  Think  of  the  many  in- 
stitutions of  learning  which  offer  schooling  to  every  child 
in  the  land.  Think  of  church  missions  which  one  hundred 
years  ago  had  scarcely  begun  to  be,  now  almost  encircling 
the  earth  with  schools  and  churches.  Think  of  the  univers- 
al abolition  of  slavery,  and  what  has  been  done  by  means  of 
arbitration  to  bring  nations  together.  Think  of  the  many 
hospitals,  asylums  and  other  various  philanthropies  to  abate 
suffering,  and  to  help  the  needy.  Think  of  the  church  to- 
day, with  its  millions  of  pious  men  and  women  that  are  ag- 
gressive in  church  and  Sunday  School  work.  Think  of  the 
Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  and  the  Epworth  League  with  their  thousands 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.         5 

of  young  people,  full  of  life  and  vigor,  working  for  Christ 
and  the  church.  Think  of  the  most  precious  revivals  and 
the  thousands  of  Christian  churches  imbued  with  God's  di- 
vine spirit.  Statisticians  tell  us  there  are  more  Christians 
to-day  in  America  than  there  were  in  the  whole  world  one 
hundred  years  ago.  We  may  ask,  what  has  this  to  do  with 
this  church?  As  well  may  we  ask,  what  have  atoms  to  do 
with  mountains,  or  drops  of  water  with  the  ocean?  We  see 
the  possibility  of  a  mountain  in  atoms,  or  an  ocean  in  drops 
of  water.  So  every  church  that  was  organized  one  hundred 
years  ago,  however  small  the  influence,  it  has  helped  the 
swelling  tide  of  our  present  civilization. 

As  a  church  we  have  good  reasons  to  be  proud  of  our  or- 
ganization. Yet  with  reverence  and  humility  we  bow  before 
Him  whose  power  is  greater  than  the  mountain,  of  longer 
duration  than  the  universe,  of  serener  beauty  than  the  stars, 
more  exquisite  than  the  flower.  In  mystery  deeper  than 
the  seas.  In  subtlety  higher  than  the  heavens.  He  has  led 
this  church  by  ways  unknown  then  to  our  fathers,  now  vis- 
ible to  us.  The  germs  of  fitness  for  their  future  were 
placed  here  by  God,  and  then,  on  their  mission  of  develop- 
ment. 

This  church  has  had  most  noble  men  as  pastors.  Some 
of  great  intellect  and  learning,  who,  by  the  power  of  their 
consecrated  lives  and  teachings,  have  helped  to  mould  the 
spiritual  condition  of  this  town.  Those  who  have  passed 
away,  we  cherish  their  memory;  and  you,  who  are  present, 
and  the  absent  ones,  in  the  name  of  our  Master  we  greet 
you  as  true  servants  of  God.  With  you  to-day  there  are 
also  present  those  who  have  been  deacons  and  lay  members 
of  this  church.  You  glance  to  the  past  and  recall  trying  as 
well  as  joyous  times.  You  may  try  and  reproduce  some 
scenes.  Imagine  faces  of  friends  who  worshipped  with  you 
here,  now  gone  home.  The  sermons  that  thrilled  you  with 
joy,  the  prayers  that  lifted  you  to  heaven.  We  say  "they 
are  no  more."  Yet  they  are  realities  to  you;  they  are  vivid 
this  moment,  and  are  the  spiritual  mile  stones  of  your  life. 

May  we  praise  God  for  this    grand    privilege    of    uniting 


6  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

thus  together  in  this  Centennial  Anniversary  of  this  Church. 
May  it  during  the  coming  century  be  the  means  to  win 
many  souls  to  Christ  and  these  walls  again  echo  "the  glad 
tidings  of  great  joy." 

Again  I  extend  to  all  a  hearty  welcome. 


Response. 


BY  REV.  C.  C.  JOHNSON,  OF  EAST  BLOOMFIELD,   N.  Y. 


Mr.  Johnson  in  the  course  of  his  remarks  said  it  afforded 
the  visitors  great  pleasure  to  receive  such  a  hearty  welcome. 
As  we  look  back  to  1792  we  may  also  look  to  1492  and  see 
what  the  world  has  done  in  that  time.  But  we  are  to-day 
principally  concerned  in  the  last  century.  To  many  of  us 
it  has  been  a  pleasure  to  preach  from  this  pulpit.  Mr.  John- 
son recalled  some  reminiscences  in  connection  with  the 
church.  Continuing  he  said,  we  belong  to  the  churches  as 
well  as  to  any  particular  church.  I  hope  the  thought  of  the 
value  of  the  Christian  church  in  the  community  will  come 
to  the  front  to-day. 

Suppose  there  had  been  no  church  here,  who  would  have 
wished  to  live  here,  who  would  have  wished  to  invest  in 
real  estate  here  and  build  up  the  town?  The  church  stands 
for  Christian  religion.  Our  Lord  established  principles 
that  should  live  after  his  death,  and  the  church  has  taken 
them  up.  Under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  the  church 
has  done  its  work. 

What  is  it  that  forms  public  opinion?  The  press  does  not 
make  public  opinion,  it  only  reflects  it.  The  platform  is  not 
the  mould.  It  is  the  church  which  is  the  foundation.  The 
strong  outlines  of  Christianity  mould  public  opinion.  With 
the  church  goes  the  school.  When  our  forefathers  settled 
beyond  the  Mohawk,  beyond  Fort  Stanwix,  they  built  the 
schools  simultaneously  with  the  church.     The  school  is  still 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.         "J 

a  powerful  factor  in  shaping  the  deeds  of  future  genera- 
tions. The  church  influences  young  men  to  seek  higher 
education.  The  whole  force  and  backbone  of  temperance 
reform  lies  in  the  teachings  of  the  Christian  church.  The 
church  is  the  great  promoter  of  the  temperance  cause. 
When  its  influences  are  felt,  every  form  of  vice  and  sin 
suffers. 

The  church  of  Christ  does  a  good  work  upon  men  who 
are  not  Christians,  who  are  not  church  members,  but  who 
are  honest  men  and  take  pride  in  their  honesty.  But  they 
get  that  very  honesty  from  church  influences.  The  church 
also  has  an  effect  upon  values — commercial  values.  Even 
the  assessable  property  is  of  value  because  there  is  a  Chris- 
tian church  somewhere  influencing  public  opinion. 

Only  when  the  church  does  its  work  and  shows  its  vital- 
ity do  things  assume  their  true  value.  The  church  has  pre- 
served the  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  If  the  Christian 
Sabbath  be  abolished  the  Christian  religion  must  go  with  it. 
The  church  stands  for  asylums,  hospitals  and  all  the  ap- 
pliances for  mitigating  suffering. 

The  church  which  has  no  attention  for  missions  will  die 
of  the  dry  rot.  Let  the  church  be  true  to  the  missions.  If 
it  were  not  for  the  church  how  small  would  be  our  hope  of 
heaven! 

It  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  that  this  church  in  West- 
moreland has  sent  out  into  the  world  men  who  have  done 
much  for  the  good  of  the  world  and  the  cause  of  Christian- 
ity. 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 


History  of  the  Church. 


BY    DR.    EDWARD    LOOMIS. 


[The  original  settlers  of  this  town  were  professedly  pious 
people  and  we  naturally  infer  that  they  would  not  be  long 
without  the  means  of  grace.  Accordingly,  it  is  found  that 
even  before  the  organization  of  the  church,  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel  had  been  established.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Bingham 
is  represented  as  the  first  preacher  who  devoted  his  efforts 
to  the  white  population  on  this  ground.  He  was  followed 
by  the  Rev.  William  Bradford,  whose  labors  resulted  in  the 
organization  of  this  church.  Probably  they  were  both  sent 
out  by  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society.  The  original 
book  of  records  shows  that  the  society  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel  was  organized  by  the  adop- 
tion of  a  solemn  covenant,  involving  pecuniary  liabilities,  on 
the  5th  of  September,  1 791 .  This  covenant  was  subscribed 
by  fifty-five  names.  On  the  28th  of  January,  1792,  the  so- 
ciety met  for  the  election  of  trustees,  which  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  Josiah  Stillman,  Isaac  Jones,  John  Blair,  Stephen 
Brigham,  Samuel  Collins,  Silas  Phelps  and  George  Langford. 
On  the  17th  of  January,  1793,  this  constitutional  covenant 
was  annulled  and  a  new  one  adopted  in  its  place.  This  new 
covenant  was  subscribed  by  eighty-one  names,  among  which 
is  the  name  of  Simeon  Fillmore,  an  uncle  of  the  president 
of  the  United  States.  It  is  said  also  that  his  brother,  the 
father  of  the  president,  was  residing  here  at  the  time  as  a 
hired  man  in  the  employ  of  Esq.  Parkman.] 


It  was  currently  reported  among  the  early  settlers  of  the 
town  that  the  name  Westmoreland  was  adopted  as  a  compli- 
ment to  General  Washington,  whose  home  was  in  West- 
moreland Co.,  Va.,  and  who,  with  Governor  George  Clinton, 
owned  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  town,  on  one  of  which  a 
part  of  the  village  of  Hampton  is  located.  This  town  is 
geographically  the  central  town  in  the  county.  The  large 
majority  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  town  were  from  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut,    and    consequently    of   fixed    and 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

high  religious  principles,  and  of  healthy  and  vigorous  con- 
stitutions, as  was  also  evident  from  the  fact  that,  notwith- 
standing the  hardships  consequent  upon  the  settlement  of  a 
new,  heavy  timbered  country,  of  twenty  persons  who  moved 
in  during  the  first  five  years  all  but  one  lived  to  be  more 
than  seventy-six  years  old.  Some  lived  to  be  eighty-one; 
several  of  them  more  than  ninety;  and  one  to  be  one  hun- 
dred and  one.  The  writer  remembers  well,  when  a  boy, 
being  carried  more  than  four  miles  by  his  father  to  see  the 
latter  during  the  last  year  of  his  life. 

There  were  a  number  of  revolutionary  soldiers  in  the  town, 
and  they  were  generally  among  the  most  active  and  re- 
spected citizens,  as  was  demonstrated  through  the  action  of 
the  first  pension  law,  which  gave  pensions  only  to  poor  and 
needy  soldiers,  and  of  the  whole  number  in  town  only  one 
received  a  pension,  and  he  was  an  excommunicated  member 
of  the  Congregational  Church  on  the  ground  of  intemper- 
ance, which  at  the  same  time  brought  him  within  reach  of 
this  strange  law. 

One  of  these  old  soldiers  who  had  served  during  the  war 
told  me  that  the  handsomest  sight  he  ever  witnessed  was 
when  he  saw  General  Burgoyne  surrender  his  sword. 

Judge  Deane  was  the  first  settler  in  town,  which  settle- 
ment occurred  in  1786.  He  was  of  New  England  birth,  and 
was  destined  by  his  parents  for  missionary  work  among  the 
Indians;  and  to  this  end  was  early  in  life  adopted  by  an 
Indian  woman  of  the  Oneida  tribe,  and  had  his  education  in 
this  connection,  and  learned  to  talk  their  language  perfect- 
ly. 

Under  these  circumstances  he  was  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernment, earl)-  in  the' Revolutionary  War,  with  the  rank  of 
Major,  to  act  among  the  Indians,  where  he  performed  im- 
portant duties  in  the  interest  of  both  parties. 

At  the  end  of  the  war  the  Indians,  with  the  approval  of 
the  Government,  proposed  to  make  him  a  present  of  two 
miles  square  of  land,  to  locate  which  he  went  first  to  the 
border  of  Wood  Creek,  but  the  land  proved  low  and  wet 
and  he  was  not  satisfied;  the  Indians  told  him  to    go    down 


10  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

Wood  Creek  until  he  came  to  the  Mohawk,  and  then  go 
down  the  Mohawk  until  he  came  to  Oriskany  (Nettle 
Creek);  then  up  Oriskany  until  he  came  to  what  is  now 
called  Deane's  Creek;  then  up  Deane's  Creek  until  he  came 
to  the  high  falls;  there  find  good  land.  This  brought  him 
to  Westmoreland,  and  here  he  became  the  owner  of  what 
was  called  Deane's  Patent. 

He  became  an  active  and  prominent  citizen,  holding  im- 
portant positions,  both  in  town  and  county,  and  was  early 
an  active  member  of  the  Congregational  Church.  I  well  re- 
member, when  a  lad,  sitting  in  the  old  square  pews  of  the 
church,  of  having  a  great  admiration  for  him  when  on  Sun 
day  mornings  I  used  to  see  him  walk  into  church.  He  is 
among  the  first  settlers  who  have  descendants  yet  living  in 
town. 

On  the  20th  day  of  September,  1792,  probably  at  the 
house  of  Deacon  Nathaniel  Townsend,  fifteen  persons,  with 
the  first  Deacon  Halbert  at  their  head,  after  adopting  and 
signing  a  covenant  and  confession  of  faith  and  the  Congre- 
gational rules  of  church  government,  were  pronounced  by 
the  Rev.  William  Bradford  (probably  a  missionary)  "a 
church  of  Christ,"  under  the  name  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Westmoreland.  Three  days  after  the  num- 
ber was  increased  by  the  addition  of  fifteen  more  names. 

This  was  six  years  before  the  County  of  Oneida  was  or- 
ganized, and  several  months  previous  to  the  organization  of 
the  town  of  Westmoreland,  being  the  fourth  church  organ- 
ized in  the  county.  There  was  no  other  church  in  this  town 
except  a  class  of  Methodist  Episcopals  which  was  formed 
about  1796,  until  March  17,  1803,  when  a  Baptist  Church 
was  organized  at  Lairdsville,  which  has  long  since  become 
extinct. 

It  is  not  difficult  for  any  one  familiar  with  the  early  set- 
tlers of  this  town  to  realize  upon  reading  the  list  of  names 
of  those  who  at  this  day  lifted  the  banner  of  the  cross  and 
rallied  around  it,  that  they  contributed  largely  to  the  ele- 
ment that  moulded  the  high  moral  character  of  the    people, 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  II 

a  blessing  which  few  present  have  not  part  in.  And  who 
can  contemplate  this  sturdy  earnestness  except  with  feelings 
of  inexpressible  thankfulness? 

On  the  19th  of  October,  1792,  Thomas  Halbert  was  chosen 
moderator,  Nehemiah  Jones,  scribe,  and  at  the  same  meet- 
ing they,  with  Alexander  Parkman,  were  chosen  a  commit- 
tee to  have  charge  of  the  meetings  on  the  Sabbath. 

On  May  2nd,  1793,  it  was  voted  to  give  William  Joel 
Bradley  a  call  to  settle  in  the  orders  of  the  Gospel,  if  after 
conversation  there  was  an  agreement  of  sentiment. 

At  a  council,  duly  called,  consisting  of  Rev.  Elders  Ame  R. 
Robbins,  Samuel  Kirkland  and  Dan  Bradley,  with  delegates 
from  the  churches  at  Clinton,  Paris  and  Whitestown,  who 
had  previously  examined  Mr.  Bradley  at  the  house  of 
Deacon  Nathaniel  Townsend,  on  the  17th  day  of  July,  1793, 
the  Rev.  William  J.  Bradley  was  solemnly  ordained  by 
prayer  and  the  imposition  of  hands,  and  the  pastoral  charge 
of  the  church  and  society  in  Westmoreland  committed  to 
him. 

On  the  2nd  day  of  April,  1800,  Mr.  Bradley,  having  pre- 
viously tendered  his  resignation  as  pastor  of  the  church,  on 
the  ground  of  embarrassments  growing  out  of  the  agitation 
of  the  question  of  a  site  for  a  church  building  in  contem- 
plation, was  by  a  council  mutually  called,  and  with  the  re- 
luctant consent  of  the  church,  discharged. 

During  this  period  of  seven  years,  although  they  had  no 
place  for  public  worship  except  in  private  houses  and  in 
different  parts  of  the  town,  yet  it  is  apparent  that  there  was 
a  quiet,  yet  steady  growth.  On  the  10th  day  of  October, 
1793,  Thomas  Halbert  and  Nathaniel  Townsend  were  elect- 
ed deacons.  During  this  time  Mr.  Bradley  had  buried  his 
wife  and  for  quite  a  period  was  a  lay  member  of  the  church. 

In  January,  1800,  there  was  an  association  formed  of  the 
Congregational  Churches  of  Oneida  County,  with  which  this 
church  united  by  special  vote  in  the  April  following.  This 
relation  continued  until  April,  1819,  at  which  time  it  united 
with  the  Oneida  Presbytery,  on  the    plan    adopted    by   the 


12  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

General  Assembly  and  the  Association  of  Connecticut. 
This  plan  made  it  the  duty  of  the  church  to  elect  a  standing 
committee  of  government,  leaving  each  member  to  decide 
whether  they  would  be  amenable  to  the  committee  or  the 
church.  This  caused  a  large  amount  of  confusion  and  dif- 
ficulty and  the  church,  at  its  own  request,  was  dismissed  in 
June,  1839,  and  has  remained  to  the  present  an  independent 
Congregational  body. 

Various  expedients  were  resorted  to  to  settle  the  question 
of  the  location  of  the  church  building;  all  failing,  each  party 
at  about  the  same  time  proceeded  to  build,  but  the  church 
providentially  harmonizing  so  as  to  alternate  the  meetings 
between  the  churches;  in  1803  tne  difficulty  was  adjusted  by 
the  sale  of  the  south  church  to  the  Methodists,  the  avails 
being  used  in  finishing  the  Hampton  Church. 

This  church  was  built  near  the  centre  of  the  village  green, 
without  porch  or  steeple.  It  had  doors  opening  on  both 
sides,  with  broad  aisles  crossing  in  the  body  of  the  church, 
dividing  the  square  pews  into  blocks.  These  pews  had 
seats  on  three  sides,  with  a  door  on  the  fourth  opening  into 
the  aisle,  and  were  sold  at  private  sale  to  individuals  and 
permanent  written  titles  given,  which  became  the  cause  of 
serious  difficulty  on  change  in  the  style  of  seats.  There 
were  high  galleries  on  the  sides,  with  a  high  pulpit  on  one 
end;  the  choir  in  the  gallery  opposite,  led  by  the  wide- 
awake choristers,  and  kept  in  harmony  by  the  ever  present 
tuning  fork.  The  congregation  stood  in  prayer,  also  in 
singing,  turning  their  faces  to  the  choir,  a  custom  always 
confusing  and  awkward;  a  custom  however  which  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Spencer  failed  to  correct  by  a  sermon  preached  in  his 
day  entitled,  "Little  Things." 

Probably  about  1 820  the  church  was  removed  to  where  it 
now  stands,  and  the  porch,  steeple  and  bell  added.  Since 
that  time  it  has  undergone  two  important  repairs,  bringing  it 
to  its  now  very  pleasant  condition.  There  was  never  any 
attempt  to  warm  the  house  until  the  time  of  the  first  of  these 
repairs,|and  then  by  a  single  wood  stove,  called  a  Russian  stove, 
which  always  seemed  to  be  appropriately  named,    provided 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        I  3 

it  was  expected  to  bring  the  Russian  climate  with  it. 
Four  years  after  the  dismissal  of  Mr.  Bradley,  years  cer- 
tainly of  fair  prosperity,  there  being  preaching  most  of  the 
time  by  temporary  supplies,  they  gave  Rev.  James  Eells, 
from  Connecticut,  a  unanimous  call,  and  he  was  ordained 
pastor  by  a  council  duly  called  on  the  12th  day  of  July, 
1804,  and  remained  as  such  until  1825,  full  twenty-one  years. 
A  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  L.  A.  Sawyer, 
then  pastor  of  the  church,  and  resolutions  on  the  report  of 
his  death,  Jan.  14,  1856.  Two  of  his  sons  became  ministers 
of  the  Gospel.  John  Bears  was  elected  deacon  during  his 
ministry;  the  date  is  not  given.  Mr.  Eells  was  not  especial- 
ly noted  for  pulpit  eloquence,  but  for  pulpit  ideas  he  was. 
He  was  a  true-hearted,  faithful  man,  with  one  controlling 
rule  of  action  in  his  public  life,  and  that  was  to  truly  fulfill 
his  pastoral  duties.  His  ministry  existed  through  all  my 
boyhood,  and,  although  he  lived  two  miles  from  my  home, 
we  had  few  neighbors  more  familiar  at  our  house  than  he 
was,  and  boy  as  I  was,  I  formed  a  veneration  and  respect 
for  him  that  has  never  been  exceeded  in  all  my  minister- 
ial acquaintances.  He  used  to  drill  the  four  boys  of  us  in 
the  family  in  the  catechism. 

He  was  of  course  a  Calvinist,  as  was  demonstrated  in  the 
funeral  sermon  he  preached  to  a  large  congregation,  and 
which  I  well  remember  listening  to,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
tragic  death  of  John  Parkman,  from  the  text  found  in  I  Kings 
22-34,  "And  a  certain  man  drew  a  bow  at  a  venture,  and 
smote  the  King  of  Israel  between  the  joints  of  the  harness." 
It  was  a  general  remark  that  young  Smith  would  hardly 
need  any  better  defence. 

During  his  ministry,  Feb.  25,  1818,  under  the  joint  super- 
vision of  William  Newcomb  and  Reuben  Bettes,  there  was  a 
a  Sabbath  School  formed,  but  it  would  not  seem  to  have 
been  formally  under  the  direction  of  the  church  until  1834, 
when,  by  the  agency  of  a  special  committee,  it  was 
duly  organized  by  the  appointment  of  Rufus  Pratt  superin- 
tendent, with  a  board  of  managers.  Up  to  this  time  the 
exercises  of  the  school  consisted  in  the    hearing    of   recita- 


14  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

tions  of  portions  of  the  Scripture  committed  to  memory. 
The  school  has  been  a  valuable  agency  in  the  church  from 
that  day  to  this,  and  is  now  thoroughly  organized  with 
James  Bell  its  last  superintendent. 

Probably  rather  late  in  Mr.  Eells'  ministry  there  was  a 
very  strong  total  abstinence  pledge  adopted  by  the  church, 
from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  made  a  part  of  its  cove- 
nant. This  fact  suggests  some  very  interesting  thoughts 
upon  this  question.  Up  to  about  this  time  of  the  common 
and  free  use  of  intoxicating  drinks,  anything  short  of  down- 
right and  habitual  intoxication  was  not  regarded  as  an  im- 
morality, and  the  church  was  not  an  exception  to  this  rule. 
At  that  day  it  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  members  of 
the  church  to  own  and  keep  hotels,  selling  liquors  there, 
and  at  other  places  of  business,  whilst  to-day  there  are  few 
churches  in  the  land  that  anyone  can  sustain  a  fair  standing 
in  who  even  drinks  liquor,  however  moderately.  What  a 
change!     Let  us  thank  God,  and  take  courage. 

The  first  contribution  of  the  church  to  foreign  missions 
was  made  on  the  20th  day  of  June,  1820.  It  was  twenty-one 
dollars.  To-day  its  Sabbath  School  will  do  better  than  that 
every  year.  But  the  church  generally  was  asleep  upon  this 
great  question. 

In  those  days  we  used  to  call  our  ministers  priests.  It 
was  Priest  Eells,  Priest  Gillett,  noted  for  his  short  sermons, 
Priest  Froast,  noted  for  his  able  sermons,  Priest  Weeks, 
noted  for  his  Calvinistic  sermons,  and  Priest  Brainard,  noted 
for  his  singing  sermons,  constituting  a  large  part  of  a  circle 
of  ministers  we  used  to  hear  more  or  less  every  year. 

Nov.  1,  1822,  Thomas  Halbert  was  elected  deacon  to  fill 
a  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of  his  father. 

It  would  seem  that  sometime  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1824,  Mr.  Eells  notified  the  church  that  as  soon  as  they 
united  upon  some  other  person  for  pastor,  he  wished  to  re- 
tire. From  that  time  the  Rev.  Abijah  Crane  spent  his  time 
with  the  church,  until  the  7th  day  of  January,  1825,  when 
they  gave  him  a  unanimous  call  to  become  their  pastor,  and 
soon  after  the  release  of  Mr.   Eells  and    the    installation    of 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  I  5 

Mr.  Crane  was  consummated  by  a  meeting  of  the  Oneida 
Presbytery  with  the  church.  Mr.  Crane's  ministry  was 
eminently  a  successful  one,  although  the  question  of  church 
government,  with  some  very  troublesome  cases  of  church 
discipline,  with  quite  a  serious  agitation  on  the  subject  of 
Free  Masonry,  of  which  order  he  was  a  member,  occurred; 
yet  hardly  a  sacramental  season  passed  in  which  members 
were  not  received  into  the  church.  On  one  of  these  occa- 
sions, June  2,  183 1,  fifty-one  persons  were  received. 

On  the  3rd  day  of  March,  1832,  the  church  elected  Asaph 
Seymour,  Warren  Kellogg,  and  Lemuel  L.  Chester,  M.  D., 
deacons.  It  is  presumed  that  Deacons  Townsend  and 
Bears,  for  some  reason  not  stated,  had  ceased  to  act.  Mr. 
Seymour  soon  after  removed  to  Utica. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  the  meeting-house  on  the  3rd  day 
of  April,  1832,  for  the  purpose  of  incorporating  the  society, 
Eliphalet  Bailey  and  Benjamin  Buell  were  duly  elected,  by 
the  members  present,  to  preside  at  the  election,  receive 
votes  of  the  electors,  and  return  the  names  of  the  persons 
who  shall  be  duly  elected  to  serve  as  trustees  of  the  society. 
Thomas  Halbert,  Eliphalet  Bailey,  Reuben  Rose,  William 
Newcomb,  Erastus  W.  Clark,  Benjamin  Buell,  Erastus 
Loomis,  Parker  Halleck,  and  George  Langford  were  elected 
trustees.  The  following  resolution  was  also  adopted:  "Re- 
solved, That  the  name  or  title  by  which  this  society  shall 
forever  be  known  shall  be  the  First  Congregational  Society 
of  Westmoreland." 

Sometime  about  July,  1832,  Mr.  Crane  was  dismissed  by 
Oneida  Presbytery,  at  his  own  request,  after  seven  years  of 
service,  the  church,  by  a  special  committee  signifying  their 
entire  satisfaction  with  him. 

The  first  parsonage,  now  standing  on  the  south  side  of  the 
street  leading  east,  was  built  at  the  time  Mr.  Crane  com- 
menced his  work,  on  land  which  had  formerly  been  a  part 
of  Mr.  Eells'  farm  and  was,  in  its  day,  a  beautiful  residence. 

On  the  3rd  day  of  July,  1833,  Edward  Fairchild  was  in- 
stalled pastor  by  a  committee  of  Oneida  Presbytery. 

At  this  date  it  is  noticeable  that  the  temperance  question 


1 6  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

was  prominent,  in  both  the  Presbytery  and  in  the  church, 
but  in  both  cases  in  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  only. 

On  May  4th,  1834,  thirty-two  persons  were  received  into 
the  church.  On  July  3rd,  1835,  the  committee  to  provide 
wine  for  the  communion  were  directed  in  the  future  "to 
procure  such  as  is  made  from  raisins,  without  fermenta- 
tion;" and  in  September  of  the  same  year  there  was  adopted 
"a  pledge  of  total  abstinence  from  everything  as  a  drink 
that  contains  alcohol  or  that  can  intoxicate,"  and  a  large 
committee  appointed  to  present  it  for  signatures  to  all  the 
members  of  the  church. 

In  the  midst  of  a  protracted  meeting,  of  great  interest, 
under  the  charge  of  Rev.  John  Ingersoll,  in  February,  1836, 
in  consequence  of  very  serious  reports  touching  the  moral 
character  of  Mr.  Fairchild,  he,  thinking  best  not  to  meet 
them,  for  reasons  not  given,  severed,  by  leaving  the  place, 
his  relation  with  the  church,  and  never  returned.  The  Pres- 
bytery expelled  him,  but  afterwards  the  Synod  reinstated 
him;  his  family  joining  him  in  due  time.  The  meetings 
were  in  no  way  interrupted,  Mr.  Ingersoll  assuming  the 
entire  control,  and  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month  there 
were  added  to  the  church,  on  profession  of  faith,  about  thirty 
members.  About  the  same  time  new,  and  considerably 
modified,  articles  of  faith  were  adopted. 

Mr.  Ingersoll  continued  for  about  two  years  to  occupy 
the  pulpit  as  stated  supply.  He  was  an  able  and  attractive 
preacher;  his  audience  never  tiring  on  the  account  of  long 
sermons,  to  which  he  was  not  a  little  liable.  His  forte  was 
doubtless  as  an  evangelist.  Few  men  read  character  with 
the  accuracy  that  he  did.  When  he  came  here  he  was  a 
widower  with,  I  think,  two  sons  and  one  daughter.  Soon 
after  he  married  into  a  prominent  family  in  Manlius,  Onon- 
daga County.  He  stayed  this  year  out  and  removed  his 
family  to  Ohio.  He  was  the  father  of  Colonel  Ingersoll, 
and  I  am  not  without  the  hope  that  the  Colonel  will  yet 
preach  the  Gospel.  It  was  during  his  ministry  that  the 
church  was  called  upon  to  meet  that  wide-spread  craze  of 
perfectionism,  which  it  did  effectually.     This  was  a    theory 


\\  ESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  \J 

that  Christ  was  in  its  subjects  in  such  a  way  that  they  could 
not  sin;  which  constituted  a  fundamental  principle  in 
Oneida  Communism,  where  it  was  permitted  to  thoroughly 
and  nauseatingly  expend  itself.  During  the  time  Mr.  In- 
gersoll  was  with  the  church  the  subject  of  slavery  was  ser- 
iously agitated,  resulting  in  its  condemnation  without  any 
per  se  proviso. 

In  the  spring  of  1838,  Rev.  Nathaniel  Hurd  commenced 
his  ministry  as  stated  supply  and  continued  his  labors  about 
three  years,  during  which  time  the  church  tendered  him  a 
call  to  become  their  pastor,  which,  however,  was  never  ac- 
cepted. He  was  an  able,  faithful  minister,  whom  the  church 
appreciated.  Nov.  1st,  1839,  Amasa  Pratt  and  Bushnell 
Bishop  were  elected  deacons.  It  was  during  Mr.  Hurd's 
ministry  that  the  church  withdrew  from  the  Presbytery. 
In  the  year  1840  the  church  contributed  to  foreign  missions 
$92.21. 

In  the  year  1841,  Rev.  F.  A.  Spencer  commenced  his  la- 
bors as  stated  supply,  and  was  soon  after  ordained  by  the 
Oneida  Presbytery  and  elected  standing  moderator  of  the 
church.  He  was  a  native  of  the  town  of  Verona,  and  a 
graduate  of  Oneida  Institute,  having  received  his  ecclesiastic- 
al training  at  Union  College.  He  was  installed  pastor  in  Sep- 
tember, 1850,  by  a  council  of  ministers  called  for  that  pur- 
pose. He  buried  his  wife,  who  was  a  charming  woman,  a 
year  previous.  Afterwards  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
King,  a  member  of  the  church,  in  public  on  the  occasion  of 
his  installation.  He  was  full  twelve  years  pastor;  years  of 
fair  and  quiet  prosperity;  being  dismissed  at  his  own  re- 
quest, by  a  council  called  for  that  purpose,  on  the  27th  day 
of  May,  1853.  There  were  at  that  time  183  members.  He 
died  at  Clinton  a  few  years  since,  and  was  buried  by  the  side 
of  his  wife  in  Union  Cemetery.  He  was  a  man  of  great  en- 
ergy of  character,  devoted  to  the  right,  frank  and  earnest 
in  its  defence.  He  always  occupied  a  front  rank  in  all 
moral  movements  of  the  day,  and  was  not  afraid  to  take 
them  into  the  pulpit.     He  believed  in  Bible  total  abstinence 


1 8  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

and  did  stalwart  work  in  its  defence.  No  moderate  or  tem- 
perate use  of  wine  for  him. 

For  the  next  two  years  Rev.  John  Barton,  of  Clinton,  was 
employed;  coming  over  and  preaching  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
on  other  occasions,  when  called  for. 

Early  in  January,  1855,  Rev.  L.  A.  Sawyer,  a  member  of 
the  Oneida  Association,  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church 
by  that  body.  He,  by  his  own  request,  was  received  into 
the  church  as  a  member;  and,  in  due  time,  received  a  letter 
to  a  Congregational  Church  in  Boston.  Mr.  Sawyer's  pul- 
pit qualifications  were  of  a  high  order.  He  was  a  scholar, 
and  of  a  studious  turn  of  mind,  and  was  considerably  en- 
gaged in  literary  pursuits.  During  his  pastorate  the  church 
united  with  the  Oneida  Association.  September  11,  1858, 
after  a  little  more  than  three  years  of  service,  he  tendered 
his  resignation  and  the  church,  after  passing  resolutions  of 
regret  and  confidence,  joined  him  in  applying  to  the  Asso- 
ciation for  his  dismissal,  and  now,  at  eighty-five  years  of  age, 
he  is  quietly  living  in  Whitesboro. 

Number  of  members  in  communion,  January  31,  1858,  160. 

Rev.  Jeremiah  Petrie  associated  with  the  church  as  pastor 
early  in  the  year  1859.  He  was  pastor  full  three  years,  and 
as  such  was  faithful  and  true;  closing  his  services  quite 
early  in  1863.  He  moved  to  Herkimer  County,  and,  event- 
ually to  Pompey  Hill,  Onondaga  County,  where  he  has  been 
doing  good  service  in  the  cause  of  the  Master. 

The  church  voted  in  February,  1863,  that  the  pastor  or 
stated  supply,  should  have  his  faith  and  ecclesiastical  con- 
nection in  harmony  with  the  Congregational  system.  In 
November,  1861,  Sheldon  W.  Stoddard  was  ordained  deacon 
in  place  of  Deacon  Pratt. 

The  Rev.  M.  E.  Dunham  now  occupied  the  position  of 
pastor,  commencing  about  June,  1863,  and  closing  not  far 
from  May  1st,  1867,  about  four  years  of  satisfactory  and 
successful  work.  The  next  year  after  he  entered  upon  his 
duties,  the  Sabbath  School  effected  a  regular  business  or- 
ganization, which  has  continued  to  be  an  agency  of  much 
good,  and  in  which  he  took  an  active  part  as  a  teacher  also. 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  19 

The  school  since  that  period  has  annually  raised  consider- 
able sums  of  money,  at  one  time  putting  in  a  new  library 
at  an  expense  of  two  hundred  dollars.  Sending  to  Har- 
poot,  Eastern  Turkey,  at  one  time,  one  hundred  and  forty 
dollars.  Number  of  scholars  aggregating  one  year  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four.     Mr.  Dunham  is  now  a  pastor  in  Utica. 

Rev.  James  Ueane  now,  after  a  few  months,  became  the 
pastor,  and  after  more  than  eleven  years  of  faithful  service, 
preached  his  farewell  sermon  on  the  22nd  day  of  December, 
1878.  He  was  both  a  member  of  the  Association  and  of 
the  church.  He  received  a  letter  of  dismissal  to  the  church 
in  Phoenix,  Oswego  County.  During  Mr.  Deane's  pastorate 
the  church  was  very  prosperous.  In  the  year  1875,  a  very 
earnest  revival  occurred,  in  the  conduct  of  which  he  was 
assisted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jones,  an  evangelist.  Over  thirty 
persons  united  with  the  church  during  its  continuance  and 
a  communion  service  seldom  passed  during  the  remaining 
three  years  of  his  ministry  in  which  there  were  not  admis- 
sions to  the  church.  A  very  earnest  missionary  spirit  was 
also  developed  during  the  latter  part  of  his  ministry.  Mr. 
Deane  was  a  grandson  of  Judge  James  Deane.  His  father 
was  the  first  white  male  child  born  in  the  town.  His  pas- 
torate was  a  very  satisfactory  and  successful  one. 

February  28,  1868,  Jason  S.  Bliss  was  elected  a  deacon  to 
fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  removal  of  Deacon  Bush- 
nell  Bishop  from  the  town,  and  Austin  S.  Brown  was  elected 
an  additional  deacon.  He  was  also  for  many  years  church 
clerk  and  treasurer. 

Deacon  Sheldon  W.  Stoddard  died  suddenly,  July  9th, 
1876,  and  James  W.  Manktelow  was  chosen  deacon  Novem- 
ber 3rd,  1876. 

The  church  was  now  without  a  pastor  until  March,  1880, 
a  little  more  than  a  year,  the  pulpit  being  supplied  by  dif- 
ferent ministers,  when  the  Rev.  H.  P.  Blair,  a  Congregation- 
alist  minister  became  pastor,  and  a  member  of  the  church. 
His  pastorate  was  of  short  duration,  terminating  in  July, 
1881. 

After  a  vacancy  of  nearly  two  years,  during    which    time 


20  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

the  pulpit  was  filled  by  Rev.  F.  N.  Greeley,  I.  O.  Best  and 
others,  the  church  secured  for  pastor  Rev.  Nestor  Light, 
who  was  ordained  by  a  council  of  ministers  invited  by  the 
church,  on  the  15th  day  of  March,  1883.  The  new  parson- 
age on  Main  street  was  built  during  his  administration;  he 
breaking  ground  for  its  foundation  in  the  Spring  of  1886. 
It  was  a  source  of  regret  to  Mr.  Light's  many  friends  that 
he  never  occupied  the  parsonage  his  energetic  and  earnest 
effort  was  so  instrumental  in  building.  He  closed  his  ser- 
vices in  March,  1886. 

Rev.  Samuel  Manning  became  pastor  in  September,  1886. 
Much  earnest  work  was  done  during  his  pastorate.  Through 
the  influence  and  effort  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Manning  a  Christ- 
ian Endeavor  Society,  which  is  yet  doing  its  work,  was  or- 
ganized by  the  young  people,  October  31st,  1886.  Mr. 
Manning  was  a  Congregationalist  and  became  a  member  of 
the  church.  His  pastorate  closed  in  December,  1890.  Mr. 
Manning  is  at  present  pastor  of  the  church  at  Bridgewater, 
N.  Y. 

December  31st,  1886,  Deacon  J.  S.  Bliss  having  resigned, 
C.  H.  Tyler  was  chosen  for  the  vacancy.  James  Bell  was 
elected  deacon  at  the  same  time. 

During  a  vacancy  of  about  a  year  which  now  took  place, 
reading  services  were  conducted  by  different  members  of 
the  church  for  a  portion  of  the  time.  Afterward  the  ser- 
vices of  Rev.  C.  W.  Hawley,  of  Clinton,  were  secured,  and 
very  acceptable  service  was  rendered  by  him  until  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  pastorate. 

Rev.  W.  C.  Jones  commenced  his  work  in  February  of 
the  present  year,  1892,  and  it  speaks  well  for  the  condition 
of  the  church,  and  the  zeal  and  efficiency  of  the  pastor,  that 
each  recurring  communion  season  has  witnessed  accessions 
to  the  church,  either  by  confession  of  faith  or  by  letter,  or 
both. 

Deacon  Austin  S.  Brown  died  in  January,  1892,  and  E. 
W.  Johnston  was  elected  deacon  July  2nd,  1892. 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  21 

Let  the  present  membership  of  this  church  rally  round 
the  old  standard  with  fresh  zeal  and  courage,  remembering 
that  these  noble  Christian  men  and  women  who,  with  the 
spirit  of  self-consecration  and  genuine  heroism,  erected  it 
one  hundred  years  ago,  "being  dead,  yet  speak"  to  cheer 
and  encourage  your  work  of  love. 


[Note. — Dr.  Edward  Loomis,  the  author  of  this  history,  is 
in  his  eighty-seventh  year.  He  served  the  church  as  clerk 
from  Jan.,  1836,  until  July  5th,  1862.  He  was  appointed  sur- 
geon of  the  117th  Regt.  (4th  Oneida)  N.  Y.  S.  Vols.,  July 
29th,  1862,  resigning  that  position  April  15th,  1863.  He 
was  always  an  active  and  influential  member  of  the  church. 
Having  moved  to  Oneida  he  severed  his  connection  with 
the  church  in  Westmoreland  April  23,  1864,  taking  letters 
for  himself  and  wife  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  that 
place,  where  he  still  resides.] 


22  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 


Poem. 


BY    THOMAS    E.    MCENTEE,    OF    CLARKS    MILLS,    N.    Y. 


We  stand  to-day 
Upon  the  borders  of  two  hundred  years, 
The  one,  veiled  with  the  mists  of  time,  and  on 
Its  brow,  deep  wrinkled  now,  bearing  the  crown 
Of  its  accomplished  years,  is  passing  on 
To  that  dim  realm  where  history  is  born. 
The  other,  fresh  with  the  dews  of  morning. 
And  heralded  by  that  auroral  light 
Which  gilds  the  dawn,  comes  on  apace, 
Eager  to  mount  the  throne  and  grasp  the  crown. 
With  outstretched  hand,  inspired  of  memory, 
We  cling  awhile  to  that  receding  form 
Not  willing  to  let  drop  its  lessons  grand 
Beneath  oblivion's  pall.     With  outstretched  hand 
inspired  of  hope,  kindled  by  all  the  memories 
Of  the  past,  we  are  beckoning  on  the  new, 
Dreaming  of  brighter  skies  and  balmier  days, 
By  conning  o'er  the  annals  of  our  birth, 
And  tracing  out  the  paths  by  which  we  came 
We  may  discern  the  sunshine-gilded  heights 
Whereon  we  stand,  and  cast  the  horoscope, 
And  gage  the  possibilities  of  that 
Oncoming  century  new  born  to-day. 
Inspire  our  hearts  with  thy  divinest  truth. 
Oh  sacred  muse  !   revive  our  memories, 
Illuminate  our  minds,    that  we  may  see 
And  comprehend  in  all  its  grand  results, 
And  tell  the  tale  of  all  our  fathers  wrought. 

In  that  great  epoch  of  the  world's  great  thought, 
When,  aroused  from  the  long  sleep  of  ages, 
Men  awoke  to  deeper  sense  of  their  own 
Fealty  to  God,  and  law  and  carved  their  way, 
Through  fields  baptized  in  blood  to  truer  freedom 
And  more  perfect  peace ;  strong  pioneers  were  they. 
Strong  pioneers  to  mould  from  out  the  primal 
Forest  and  the  desert  wild,  the  naked  earth, 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  23 

And  map  it  into  towns  and  commonwealths. 

True  pioneers  were  they,  for  more  than  well 

They  knew,  endowed  with  broader  views  of  freedom 

Than  the  world  had  known,  wisely  to  build  and  well 

On  those  foundations  firm  which  should  endure. 

Imbued  were  they  with  the  great  central  thought, 

From  all  the  past's  experience  gathered  up, 

By  the  true  zeal  of  their  own  hearts  inspired, 

That  not  because  from  tyrants  free  is  freedom  sure: 

That  not  alone  of  lands,  and  towns,  and  wealth, 

And  splendid  monuments,  and  palaces, 

And  men  who  know  of  freedom  by  the  name 

And  only  thus,  are  commonwealths  built  up. 

But  only  they  are  free  whom  truth,  uplifting 

Into  purer  air,  above  the  strifes  of  men, 

Makes  free  indeed.     That  only  they  build  well, 

In  home  or  state,  in  poverty's  rude  hut, 

Or  in  the  temple's  rich  proportions  vast, 

Who  recognize  in  all  things  the  divine 

Controlling  power  and  build  most  lovingly 

To  learning,  liberty  and  God. 

And  so 
It  came  to  pass  that,  when  our  fathers  laid 
In  this  rich  soil  the  small  beginning  first, 
Of  that  great  commonwealth  that  was  to  be, 
When  with  strong  arms  they  hewed  the  forest  down, 
And  built  them  homes,  where  virtue,  liberty, 
And  truth  might  dwell,  to  guard,  protect  and  bless ; 
They  reared  this  temple  in  the  wilderness ; 
Not  glittering,  vast  and  grand,  but  firm  and  strong, 
On  deep  foundations  laid,  and  on  each  part 
Inscribed,  in  characters  that  have  not  died, 
And  cannot  die,  "Freedom  to  Worship  God." 
The  generations  that  have  come  and  gone  ; 
The  quiet  homes  among  these  quiet  hills, 
Where  peace  and  plenty  dwell;  the  noble  influences 
Pervading  all  the  land,  and  blessing  all  the  earth, 
That  had  their  birthplace  here,  proclaim  in  tones 
Not  loud,  but  understood,  our  fathers  builded  well. 
Behold  the  fruit !     Here  labor's  hand,  nerved  by 
A  zeal  first  born  of  God,  transformed  desert 
And  wilderness  into  a  smiling  land, 
Where,  warmed  by  a  broad  human  sympathy, 
A  sturdy  manhood  grew.     A  sturdy  manhood 
With  love  of  right  and  love  of  truth  endued, 


24  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

That  went,  the  pioneer  of  larger  thought, 

To  fashion  other  commonwealths  to  noble  deeds, 

And  stamp  their  influence  on  the  nation's  life. 

And  so  by  love  of  God,  and  love  of  home, 

And  love  of  liberty  and  fatherland, 

Heart-warmed,  soul-fired,  bold,  daring  champions  they, 

To  fight  on  any  field  where  falsehood  base 

And  tyrrany  upraised  their  impious  hands 

To  strike  fair  virtue  down.     And  so,  when  all 

The  world's  base  traitors  did  combine,  in  one 

Last,  desperate  effort  to  crush  down 

And  stifle  the  free-born  uprisings  of 

The  soul,  and  plant  their  impious  heel  on 

Freedom's  neck ;  when  from  the  ground  went  up 

A  voice  to  heaven,  from  a  brother's  blood, 

And  asked  atonement  for  the  nation's  sins, 

Which  only  blood  could  pay;  the  willing  offering 

Was  poured  out  till  the  foul  stain  was  cleansed, 

And  not  a  slave  in  all  these  wide-spread  borders 

Clanked  his  chains. 

Nor  this  alone,  the  world 
Looked  on  amazed,  to  see,  before  its  eyes, 
The  standard  of  its  manhood  lifted  up, 
Its  base  oppressors  shrinking  back  with  awe, 
And  all  earth's  countless  hordes,  groping  in  want, 
And  ignorance,  and  degradation  vile, 
Arising  reinspired  with  a  new  hope 
At  the  fresh  dawning  of  a  bright  new  day. 
Our  father's  planted  well;  for  from  the  seed 
Planted  and  nursed  by  them  upsprung  a  tree 
That  spreads  its  branches  wide  o'er  seas  and  lands. 
Behold  their  sons,  fresh  from  their  contests  with 
The  powers  that  were,  thronging  to  learning's  halls 
To  train  their  nobler  powers  to  larger  deeds, 
And  fiercer  contests  with  a  world  in  sin, 
To  win  it  back  to  rectitude  and  God. 
In  that  far  distant  east,  where  heathen  lands 
Spread  out,  and  God's  own  image  bows  to  idols  down, 
Their  shadow  has  been  cast.     In  those  great  halls 
To  science  sacred,  and  with  learning  crowned, 
Their  silent  forces  and  persuasive  powers 
Have  shed  an  influence  that  the  age  has  felt ; 
And  up  and  down,  'mid  hills  and  valleys  rare, 
To  poor  in  spirit  who  are  poor  indeed 
Are  full  glad  tidings  of  the  gospel  preached. 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  25 

A  little  girl,  as  't  were  a  day  ago, 
Was  bounding  o'er  these  hills,  in  the  full  joyance 
Of  her  freedom  glad.     She  at  the  mystic 
Fount  of  learning,  deeply  drank  till  her  full 
Rounded  womanhood  was  full,  and  even  now, 
From  the  rich  treasure  of  her  gifts  poured  out, 
Dispenses  living  bread  to  hungry  souls, 
In  a  far  distant  island  of  the  sea. 

A  boy  we  knew,  if  boy  he  might  be  called, 
Displaying  manly  powers  beyond  his  years, 
In  yonder  classic  halls  with  honor  crowned, 
Who  spared  his  gifts  awhile  for  others'  use, 
In  Golden  Horn,  and  academic  shade. 
To  science  sacred  and  to  learning  true, 
And  now,  in  the  full  measure  of  his  powers, 
He  wards  away  disease  and  bids  the  lame 
Rise  up  and  walk,  in  that  far  land,  toward 
The  setting  sun,  where  golden  sands  roll  down 
Pacific's  slope. 

Another,  not  content, 
Even  in  boyhood,  with  the  things  that  were, 
But  thirsting  then  for  greater  things  to  be, 
Wandered  away  in  Delphian  groves,  and 
Consecrated  halls  and  lit  his  longing  soul 
With  that  celestial  fire,  which  alway  finds 
Its  counterpart  in  human  souls,  and  its 
Enthronement  in  the  love  of  God. 

And  yet 
Another.     But  we  pause  with  reverence, 
And  bow  in  presence  of  a  venerable  form. 
The  crown  of  age  sits  on  his  brow  with  beauty, 
The  shock  of  corn,  ungathered  yet,  is  ripe. 
We  say  his  work  is  done,  and  echo  answers  back 
Well  done.     That  noble  life,  with  noble  deeds 
All  full,  tells  its  own  tale.     We  only  pray, 
Let  all  the  winds  of  heaven  that  blow,  fan  him, 
Henceforward  lightly.     Let  kindly  words  and 
Kindly  deeds,  attend  him  gently  onward, 
And  strew  his  pathway  to  the  grave  with  flowers. 

Of  all  the  toilers  that  have  toiled  in  love, 
Of  all  the  charities  unseen,  unheard, 
That  have  gone  nobly  on  untold,  unsung, 
Of  all  the  holy  prayers,  from  mother  hearts, 


26  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

Prompted  by  mother  love,  that  have  a  place 
Among  the  potent  methods  that  have  warped 
And  moulded  human  character  and  life ; 
Of  all  the  wise  and  sacred  influences 
That  have  spread  abroad,  of  all  the  forces 
That  have  stirred  and  moved  the  world,  to  nobler 
Action,  and  to  purer  thought,  we  may  not  speak. 
They  are  not  lost.     The  kindly  word,  spoken 
In  love,  though  none  may  hear,  lives  on  for  aye. 
The  good  deed  done,  however  small,  for  God 
And  human  brotherhood,  becomes  a  part 
Of  that  great  universe  which  God  controls, 
And  never  dies. 

Our  fathers  slumber  well. 
The  solemn  sounding  bell,  in  yonder  tower, 
Has  sounded  forth  their  requiem,  and  passed 
Them  on,  to  that  bright  summer  land,  which  lies 
Beyond.     The  marble  slabs,  o'ergrown  with  moss, 
In  yonder  silent  city  on  the  hill, 
Their  good  deeds,  done  with  love  to  God  and  love 
To  man,  with  many  prayers,  and  many  tears, 
Their  monuments. 

But  we  to-day — are  we  the  noble  sons 
Of  noble  sires,  to  prize  at  their  high  grade 
The  countless  blessings  thus  vouchsafed  to  us, 
And  carry  on  their  work  to  higher  heights 
Of  glory  than  they  knew  ?     Or  sit  we  down 
In  an  ignoble  ease,  to  banquet  on 
The  boundless  feast  they  spread,  nor  even  deign 
To  comprehend  the  possibilities 
Of  those  bright  years  to  come  ? 

"Unseal  our  ears," 
Anoint  our  eyes  with  some  prophetic  light, 
Oh  muse  divine  inspired,  that  we  may  hear 
The  echo  of  the  voices  yet  to  be, 
Arid  gaze  a  moment  down  the  vista  of 
The  years  to  come. 

All  things  are  possible ; 
And  that  transforming  power,  working  through  all 
And  guiding  human  hands  and  busy  brains 
In  the  development  of  its  majestic  plans; 
That  wrought  such  wonders  in  the  wilderness, 
And  brought  our  fathers  on  from  small  beginnings 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  2J 

And  from  narrow  creeds,  up  to  the  splendor 
Of  a  brighter  day  and  broader  life ; 
Will  be  our  cloud  by  day  and  fire  by  night, 
To  guide  us  through  the  mysteries,  and  reveal 
What  the  great  future  has  in  store  for  us. 

All  things  are  possible  :     Oh  not  to-day 
Up  the  broad  valley  wild,  whose  very  name 
Is  but  the  music  of  a  race  that's  gone, 
Comes  on  the  busy  commerce  of  the  world 
Ry  patient  oxen  and  by  rude  bateau  ; 
But  with  the  forces  of  the  air  chained  down 
And  made  subservient  as  the  meekest  slave, 
Moves  as  the  symbol  of  advancing  thought, 
Nor  waits  the  heralding  of  time  or  tide. 

Oh  not  to-day  move  the  dull  lives  of  men 
Along  the  vulgar  paths  of  low  desires, 
And  rest  content ;  but  the  free  soul,  new  born, 
Basks  in  the  sunshine  of  that  higher  world, 
Around  us  floating  ever,  yet  unseen. 

This  then  our  starting  point.     It  needs  a  poet's  pen, 

Prophet  inspired,  to  tell  what  we  may  be. 

If  from  the  mountain  heights  we  have  attained, 

Leaving  the  light  behind,  and  groping  down, 

We  seek  the  shadows  of  the  vale  below; 

"Woe  warth  the  hour!  " 

But  if  still  gazing  up, 
Longing  for  brighter  sunshine  and  a  wider  range, 
We  mount  to  higher  summits  than  have  been 
Attained  in  all  the  generations  past ; 
"Ah  well  a  day!" 

If,  building  on  the  basis  thus  laid  down, 

And  feasting  of  our  souls  at  that  great  spread 

Till  we  perceive  the  mystic  ties  that  bind 

The  human  and  divine,  in  one  vast  bond, 

And  build,  forgetting  self,  to  human  love, 

And  human  brotherhood,  and  lift,  at  length, 

The  human  to  diviner  life,  we  shall  be  heroes 

In  the  grandest  contest  that  the  world  has  seen, 

For  the  roused  soul,  knowing  the  errand  vast 

On  which  'tis  sent,  and  thrilled  with  the  great  thought, 

"That  there  is  work  that  it  must  do  for  God  ; " 

Thrice  arms  the  warrior,  bold  for  truth  and  right, 

Who  bravelv  dares  to  strike  base  error  down. 


28  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

The  forces  of  the  wrong,  blinded  with  rage, 
Victims  of  lust  and  superstition  grim, 
Seeing  the  brightness  of  the  new  born  day, 
Are  marshalling  their  forces  to  resist 
The  onward  march  of  new  awakened  thought, 
And  spread  their  pall  of  darkness  o'er  the  earth. 
The  contest  between  truth  and  error,  means 
A  fight,  in  which  the  strong  battalion  wins 
The  day;  and  that  battalion  best,  that  nerves 
Its  arm,  and  fires  its  zeal,  with  love  of  right, 
And  a  firm  trust  in  God. 

The  friends  of  truth,  a  mighty  moving  host, 

Answering  God's  call  and  having  dreamed, 

Or  in  the  visions  of  the  night  been  warned 

Of  the  great  sacredness  of  the  divine 

In  human  life,  will  never  brook,  to  see 

The  clouds  of  error  closing  round  our  lives 

And  shutting  out  the  sun,  that  shining  down 

The  future,  gives  us  glimpses  of  the  life 

To  be.     This  then  our  battle  ground.     The  strife 

Waxes  apace.     The  world  moves  bravely  on 

And  freedom's  battle,  never  fought  in  vain 

Since  first  began,  shall  win  the  crown  at  last. 

The  aggressive  spirit  of  the  church  aroused, 

Working  with  God,  shall  move  to  victory, 

And  conquer  peace.     Then  when  at  last  grown  old. 

And  the  full  measure  of  its  years  all  full, 

Again  shall  sound  the  knell  of  the  departing 

Century,  we  may  look  forward  to  millennial  days. 

When  all  the  strifes  of  men  forgot  in  love, 

The  leopard  and  the  lion,  symbols  true 

Of  those  fierce  passions  that  destroy  the  soul, 

With  kid  and  lamb  in  quiet  shall  lie  down, 

The  child-like  spirit  of  the  Christ  shall  lead, 

And  earth  keep  Jubilee  a  thousand  years. 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  29 


Addresses. 


Hamilton  College  and  the  Westmoreland  Church. 


Hamilton  College,  September  19,  1892. 
Deacon  James  Bell. 

Dear  Sir:  I  thank  you  for  the  invitation  to  contribute 
to  the  literature  of  your  centennial  festival  by  furnishing  a 
list  of  the  graduates  of  Hamilton  College,  who  may  be  said 
to  be  in  close  relation  to  the  Congregational  Church  in 
Westmoreland,  either  as  enrolled  members,  or  as  sons  or 
grandsons  of  its  former  pastors  or  enrolled  members. 

If  the  following  names  are  not  found  in  the  records  of  the 
Congregational  Church  in  Westmoreland,  it  will  be  because 
they  stand  for  sons  or  grandsons  of  its  former  pastors  or 
members  thus  enrolled: 

Francis  Douglas,  Class  of  1817,  Rev.  Professor  William 
Beardsley,  1823,  Rev.  James  H.  Eells,  1827,  Rev.  Leicester 
A.  Sawyer,  1828,  Samuel  Eells,  1832,  George  Langford,  Jr., 
1838,  Norton  A.  Halbert,  1842,  Rev.  Parsons  S.  Pratt,  1842, 
Rev.  Edwin  H.  Crane,  1844,  Rev.  Dr.  James  Eells,  1844, 
Col.  Louis  H.  D.  Crane,  1845,  Delbitt  Langford,  1846,  Rev. 
Dr.  Moses  E.  Dunham,  1847,  Dan  Parmelee  Eells,  1848, 
Henry  G.  Miller,  1848,  Prof.  Daniel  J.  Pratt,  185 1,  Rev. 
Henry  M.  Hurd,  1857,  Alfred  K.  Seymour,  1857,  Francis 
Loomis,  1858,  Rev.  Leicester  J.  Sawyer,  1859,  Lorenzo  S.  B. 
Sawyer,  1862,  Dr.  George  M.  Loomis,  1863,  Charles  P.  Eells, 
1874,  Rev.  Willard  K.  Spencer,  1875,  Howard  P.  Eells,  1876, 
George  E.  Dunham,  1879,  Dr.  Ward  M.  Beckwith,  1880, 
Rev.  Lester  R.  Groves,  1881,  Franklin  A.  Spencer,  1882, 
Edward  M.  Baxter,  1884. 

This  is  a  record  of  contributions,  the  working  forces  of 
Church  and  State,  made  directly  or  indirectly,  with  which 
larger  and  wealthier  churches  might  be  proud  to  adorn  their 


30  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

annals.  Among  the  eleven  clergymen  on  this  roll  of  grad- 
uates, Rev.  Edwin  H.  Crane  was  a  foreign  missionary  to  the 
Nestorians,  and  died  at  Garvor,  in  Persia,  in  1854  ;  Rev.  Dr. 
James  Eells  was  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  in 
1877,  and  a  Professor  in  Lane  Theological  Seminary  at  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1886.  Louis  H.  D.  Crane  and  George 
M.  Loomis  were  among  the  first  to  enlist  in  the  war  for 
the  Union,  and  Colonel  Crane  was  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Cedar  Mountain,  August  8,  1862. 

The  medical  profession  gained  two  practitioners  of  ster- 
ling worth  by  gaining  Dr.  George  M.  Loomis,  who  died  at 
Easton,  Missouri,  in  1889,  and  Dr.  Ward  M.  Beckwith,  now 
of  Oakland,  California. 

Among  the  sons  of  Westmoreland  who  have  gained  dis- 
tinction by  their  legal  gifts,  honestly  employed,  are  Samuel 
Eells,  of  Cincinnati,  Norton  A.  Halbert,  of  New  York, 
Henry  G.  Miller,  of  Chicago,  Lorenzo  S.  B.  Sawyer  and 
Charles  P.  Eells,  of  San  Francisco.  The  only  editor  on  the 
list  is  George  E.  Dunham,  of  the  Utica  Press.  He  can  best 
explain  why  he  prefers  to  do  his  preaching  in  a  different 
way  from  that  of  Rev.  Dr.  M.  E.  Dunham. 

Prof.  Daniel  J.  Pratt  brought  honor  to  his  birthplace  by 
his  twenty  years  of  faithful  service  as  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
His  death  in  1884  was  a  heavy  bereavement  to  the  cause  of 
higher  education. 

Professor  Pratt,  son  of  Amasa  Pratt,  was  once  asked 
what  it  was  that  inspired  him  with  the  desire  and  purpose 
to  seek  a  liberal  education.  He  replied  that  as  he  was  go- 
ing to  his  daily  toil  in  the  fields  of  Westmoreland,  the 
sound  of  the  College  bell  set  him  thinking.  He  resolved  to 
find  out  to  what  kind  of  an  intellectual  diet  that  bell  was  a 
summons.  It  cost  him  a  hard,  long  struggle,  but  he  worked 
his  way  through  college,  and  his  name  will  live  most  honor- 
ably in  the  annals  of  higher  education. 

With  hearty  greeting  to  the  Church  in  Westmoreland, 
Yours  very  truly, 

EDWARD    NORTH. 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        3  I 

By  Deacon  J.  S.  Bliss,  of  Whitesboro,  N.  Y. 


Deacon  Bliss  spoke  on  "Some  Reminiscences."  He  said 
anions  other  things  :  I  was  glad,  Brother  Bell,  when  you 
wrote  inviting  me  to  come  to  this  centennial  of  the  dear  old 
church.  I  felt  as  I  imagine  the  psalmist  did  when  he  said: 
"I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  up  to  the 
house  of  the  Lord.  Our  feet  shall  stand  within  thy  gates, 
oh  !  Jerusalem."  I  rejoice  to  be  here  on  this  sacred  spot,  re- 
plete with  so  many  hallowed  memories  ;  here  where  I  spent 
36  years  of  the  prime  of  my  life.  My  heart  swells  within 
me  as  I  call  to  memory  some  of  the  scenes  that  formed  the 
panorama  that  was  spread  before  me.  I  was  born  in  the 
parish  of  which  I  am  now  a  member,  removed  thence  to 
Oriskany  in  early  life,  and  remained  there  until  I  reached 
my  majority.  My  father,  in  the  meantime,  sent  me  to 
school  to  the  institute  in  this  town,  thinking  to  make  some- 
thing of  me,  I  never  knew  just  what  ;  perhaps  a  judge  or  a 
minister.  But  he  soon  found  out  his  mistake  and  withdrew 
his  support,  and  consequently  I  withdrew  from  the  school, 
not,  however,  until  I  had  scored  a  point.  I  saw  a  young 
lady  at  school  that  pleased  me  well,  and  I  remembered  that 
Solomon  said  :  "Whoso  findeth  a  wife  findeth  a  good  thing," 
and  so  I  talked  to  this  young  lady  about  it,  and  she  was 
agreeable.  The  Rev.  F.  A.  Spencer  was  pastor  in  this 
church,  and  he  tied  the  knot  and  made  us  one,  and  a  strong 
one  it  was,  and  we  have  never  been  able  to  untie  it  however 
much  we  would,  nor  would  we  however  much  we  could.  It 
was  not  with  me  as  it  was  with  the  one  in  the  parable  that 
Christ  spake,  where  they  were  bidden  to  the  supper,  where 
one  had  married  a  wife  and  therefore  he  could  not  come, 
but  I  had  married  a  wife  and  had  to  come.  And  so  I  came. 
In  coming  to  this  church  1  saw  a  membership  of  the  gravest 
set  of  men  I  think  I  ever  saw  in  any  congregation.  Elderly 
men  of  commanding  presence,  they  would  grace  any  judge's 
bench.  But  these  passed  away  and  their  mantle  fell  upon 
other  shoulders,  honorable,  efficient,  younger  men,  of  whom 
only  four  of  this  number  are  now  alive    and    on    the  scene: 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

Dr.  Loomis,  of  Oneida,  Captain  Amos  Barnes,  of  this  place, 
who  is  in  his  ninety-fourth  year,  also  C.  H.  Kellogg,  of  this 
place,  and  myself,  the  junior  member.  Some  of  those 
numbered  among  the  list  were  prominent  in  the  church  and 
its  work,  such  as  Edward  Stoddard,  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel, 
and  his  brother,  Sheldon  W.,  who  was  deacon  in  the  church 
the  at  time  of  his  death.  We  all  remember  that  Sabbath  morn- 
ing when,  arriving  at  church,  the  first  news  that  saluted  our 
ears  was:  Deacon  Stoddard  is  dead.  While  we  were  riding  in 
our  carriages  to  the  earthly  sanctuary,  he  was  wafted  in  a 
heavenly  chariot  to  the  church  triumphant  above.  And  we 
worshipped  in  sadness  that  day.  There  was  one  notable 
instance  of  falling  from  grace,  not  of  any  live  member  of 
the  church,  for  such  never  fall  away,  but  of  a  dead  weight, 
which  fell  between  two  Sabbaths,  as  that  is  the  time  they  gen- 
erally fall  from  grace.  There  was  a  very  successful  attempt 
at  disturbing  public  worship  on  the  Lord's  day.  One  Sun- 
day, while  engaged  in  singing  praise  in  this  house,  there 
came  from  the  regions  above,  all  of  a  sudden,  a  crash,  and 
presently,  standing  in  Bela  Allen's  pew,  close  beside  him, 
was  a  scantling  that  had  been  disengaged  in  the.  garret,  and 
there  it  stood,  measuring  its  height  with  Mr.  Allen.  Hither- 
to he  had  claimed  that  he  was  the  longest  thing  that  wor- 
shipped in  that  congregation.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
house  some  of  the  sisters  did  not  wait  any  further  develop- 
ments, but  made  a  very  hurried  exit,  and  perhaps  not  as 
dignified  as  on  some  more  calm  occasion.  My  experience 
overlaps  the  ministry  of  ten  ministers,  all  of  whom  but  two 
are  living.  And  now,  with  prophetic  eye,  I  seem  to  stand, 
and  with  that  beloved  disciple  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  see 
that  innumerable  multitude  coming  up  before  the  throne 
out  of  every  nation,  tongue,  tribe  and  people,  and  I  see  our 
own  sainted  dead  there,  and  I  recognize  them. 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  33 

By  Rev.  C.  W.  Hawley,  of  Clinton,  N.  Y. 


I  have  hardly  earned  the  privilege  of  occupying  any  of 
your  time  on  this  most  interesting  occasion,  and  shall  ac- 
cept it,  as  an  act  of  grace,  to  be  best  acknowledged  by  a 
very  sparing  use.  In  the  history  of  every  congregation, 
there  are  transition  periods  between  pastorates,  and  in  the 
most  recent  of  these  in  your  history  you  gave  me  the  op- 
portunity, which  I  much  enjoyed,  of  preaching  to  you,  a 
few  months,  the  common  gospel  which  we  love  and  by 
which  we  hope  to  be  saved.  Nor  shall  aught  be  laid  up 
against  you  by  the  gap-man,  that  you  filled  the  gap  as  soon 
as  possible  by  a  regular  pastor,  whose  services  you  are  now 
enjoying.  May  those  services  long  continue  and  continual- 
ly increase  in  profitableness  well  into  the  second  century  of 
your  history.  You  have  judged  that  there  can  be  no  unfit- 
ness in  allowing  the  church  to  which  I  belong  a  word  to- 
day. I  am  glad  to  acknowledge,  that,  if  there  is  anything 
genuine  and  sound  in  me,  as  a  Presbyterian,  it  has  come 
through  a  thorough  and  somewhat  painful  drill  in  the  West- 
minster shorter  catechism,  in  my  boyhood  under  the  roof  of 
a  Congregational  deacon  and  the  supervision  of  a  Congrega- 
tional pastor  in  old  Massachusetts.  We  are  of  the  same 
household.  We  abide  by  the  same  standards.  We  rejoice 
in  each  other's  prosperity,  and,  as  to-day,  in  each  other's 
longevity,  if  only  the  years  and  the  centuries,  as  they  pass, 
are  so  filled  with  loyal  service  to  the  Master  as  to  make  con- 
tinued existence  a  blessing  to  the  world.  Just  about  a  hun- 
dred years  ago, the  Congregational  and  Presbyterian  churches 
joined  hands,  and  mingled  polities  in  one  united  effort  to 
build  up  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  new  and  scattered 
settlements  of  central  and  western  New  York.  The  Revolu- 
tionary war  had  closed  and  our  independent  national  life 
had  commenced.  But  many  good  men  were  almost  in  despair 
over  the  prospects  of  the  republic.  The  war,  as  war  inevit- 
ibly  does,  had  in  many  ways  wrought  much  harm  to  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  people,  and  greatly  weakened  the  forces 
of  the  church;   France,  while  rendering  us  generous  aid,  had 


34  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

made  an  open  door  for  the  introduction  of  that  irreligion 
and  infidelity  which  was  cursing  herself  ;  it  was  besides  a 
period  of  great  restlessness  and  continual  movement,  which 
scattered  communities  before  they  were  well  settled,  and 
left  many  to  grow  up  without  any  means  of  culture  or  grace. 
New  England  was  pouring  into  new  York,  New  England 
with  a  sprinkling  of  Pensylvanians  and  foreigners,  and  New 
England  soon  manifested  a  lively  interest  in  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  those  who  so  eagerly  entered  upon  pioneer  work 
on  the  ground  which  we  now  occupy.  That  the  immigra- 
tion was  impetuous  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  while  before 
1784,  when  Hugh  White  settled  in  Whitesborough,  "there 
was  not  a  single  spot  cultivated  by  civilized  man  between 
the  German  Flats  and  Lake  Erie,  except  the  solitary  Sted- 
man  farm  near  Niagara  Falls, yet  in  iSiOthis  region  contained 
280,319  inhabitants."  Though  a  country  without  railroads 
or  canals,  and  almost  without  roads  of  any  sort,  they  came 
in  summer  and  in  winter.  The  Dutch  citizens  of  Albany, 
the  gateway  of  the  then  West,  looked  with  wonder  upon 
the  processions  of  loaded  sleighs  and  ox-sleighs  which 
passed  through  their  town  in  mid-winter — 1,200  of  them  in 
three  days — 500  on  a  single  day,the  28th  of  February,  1795.  In 
the  summer  of  the  same  year,  97  years  ago,  Rev.  Eliphalet 
Nott,  sent  out  by  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society  on  a 
mission  to  the  settlements,  tarried  for  a  night  in  Schenec- 
tady with  John  Blair  Smith,  the  first  president  of  Union 
College.  They  talked  together,  the  staunch  Presbyterian  and 
the  decided  Congregationalist,  and  they  agreed  that  it  was 
not  wise  or  Christian  to  divide  the  sparse  population  hold- 
ing the  same  faith  into  two  distinct  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tions, so  that  it  would  be  better  that  mutual  concessions  be 
made  and  a  common  organization  effected  on  an  accommoda- 
tion plan.  Then  and  there  was  started  a  movement  that 
six  years  later  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  "Plan  of  Union," 
thro  the  action  of  the  General  Assembly  and  the  General 
Association  of  Connecticut.  It  was  warmly  welcomed  in 
Connecticut  by  such  men  as  Backus  and  Dwight  and  Strong. 
It    gave    a    new    impulse    to    the   missionary  work    on    this 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        35 

ground.  And  however  much  some  men  afterward  came  to 
doubt  its  value,  it  stands  to-day  and  will  ever  stand  in  the 
religious  history  of  our  country,  as  a  bright  example  of 
Christian  comity  and  charity,  and  a  stinging  rebuke  to  that 
narrow  and  narrowing  vision  which  can  see  nothing  good  be- 
yond one's  bare  denominational  palings,  and  find  nothing 
grander  in  Christian  activity  than  the  upbuilding  of  sect. 
Would  it  not  be  most  opportune  to  the  pressing  spiritual 
need  of  our  own  time  to  sweep  away  all  obstacles  to  the 
closest  and  heartiest  union  of  all  disciples  of  Christ  in  do- 
ing the  great  work  now  calling  for  laborers. 

As  one  hundred  years  ago  the  tide  of  French  infidelity 
was  checked  and  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  people  im- 
proved by  a  powerful  revival,  through  united  missionary 
effort  under  this  "Plan  of  Union,"  might  not  a  similar  result 
now  follow  an  effort  similar  in  spirit,  if  not  in  form  ? 

For  three  generations  this  church  has  lived  and  ministered 
to  the  spiritual  life  of  this  community.  Each  generation  has 
needed  it.  The  demand  for  the  Bread  of  Life  is  constant. 
Every  man  that  comes  into  the  world,  blindly  if  not  con- 
sciously, hungers  for  the  Gospei.  There  is  no  substitute  for 
it  ;  there  can  be  none.  There  is  need  then  of  permanency 
in  the  church.  Her  work  yet  grows  upon  her  year  by  year. 
And  we  are  to-day  impressed  with  the  fact  that  the  church 
of  Christ  is  not  a  short-lived  and  ephemeral  institution,  but 
stable  and  lasting,  having  for  her  head  One  who  is  from 
"everlasting  to  everlasting,"  "the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and 
forever." 

The  fruitage  of  work  here  done  and  prayers  here  offered, 
it  would  be  impossible  to'gather  now — imposible  to  estimate. 
Some  of  it  was  visible  as  the  years  went  by,  but  much  can 
be  revealed  only  among  the  saints  in  light  who  through 
this  instrumentality  have  won  their  crowns. 

In  some  minds,  there  is  an  undercurrent  of  sadness  to- 
day. It  was  voiced  in  my  hearing  by  a  few  faltering  words 
from  an  aged  disciple  who  feels  keenly  the  absence  of 
nearly  all  of  the  associates  of  seventy  years  ago.  Well,  it 
cannot  be  long  before  these  few,  lone  disciples  will  be  called 


36  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

to  most  blessed  reunions  in  the  general  assembly  of  the 
church  of  the  first-born  in  heaven.  Shall  this  church  continue 
another  century  ?  God  only  knows  ;  and  it  matters  little,  if 
only  while  it  has  a  mission,  its  work  is  done  faithfully  and 
well. 


By  Parsons  S.  Pratt,  of  Dorset,  Vt. 


As  a  dutiful  child  of  the,  now  venerable,  church  of  West- 
moreland, I  give  some  of  my  recollections  of  its  former 
days.  At  my  earliest  recollection  it  had  nearly  completed 
its  first  third  of  a  century.  It  was  thirty-two  years  of  age 
when  its  mothering  wings  were  spread  upon  my  infantile 
life.  My  reception  here  when  about  two  years  old  was  in 
this  wise;  I  only  recite  a  pleasant  tradition  of  our  family.  In 
the  autumn  of  1824  it  happened  that,  both  in  one  day, 
perhaps,  there  was  an  accession  to  this  parish  of  two  young 
Christian  families.  My  parents  came  in  from  Sauquoit,  my 
father's  birth  place  and  my  own,  and  pitched  their  taber- 
nacle in  the  upper  part  of  South  Street.  In  fitting  conjunc- 
tion there  came  also  from  near  the  Vermont  line,  as  I  sup- 
pose, a  newly  ordained  preacher  of  the  Gospel  and  his 
young  wife,  destined  for  your  parsonage.  It  may  be  safely 
assumed  that  this  new  pastor,  Rev.  Abijah  Crane,  had  very 
little  trouble  with  his  parishioner,  but  for  eight  years  an  at- 
tentive hearer  of  the  word  and  a  willing  helper,  and 
after  his  dismissal  and  to  the  close  of  his  life,  the  most  cor- 
dial relations  were  maintained  between  the  two  families, 
and  on  the  part  of  the  three  sons  of  each  family  friendly 
memories  long  existed.  I  deem  it  a  special  kindness  of  the 
Lord  that  all  my  early  childhood  days  were  spent  under  a 
pastorate  which  so  commanded  our  confidence,  reverence 
and  affection.  Whatever  short-coming  in  the  pastoral  re- 
lation may  elsewhere  have    been    observed,  never    has    this 


\\  ESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  37 

conviction  been  yielded,  that  happy  association  between  a 
reasonable  people  and  a  sensible,  faithful  pastor,  is  not  only 
possible,  but  should  be  confidently  expected. 

I  well  remember  the  old  home  of  the  ex-pastor,  Rev. 
James  Eells,  and  had  slight  acquaintance  with  his  sons,  one 
of  whom  was  my  schoolmate  for  a  short  time. 

My  second  decade,  including  later  boyhood,  and  acad- 
emy and  college  life,  was  largely  spent  in  Westmoreland  or 
vicinity.  It  was  a  notable  period  in  church  and  state,  and 
the  times  and  discussions  were,  for  an  interested  youth,  a 
lively  preparatory  school  for  public  life.  There  was  some 
earnest  thinking  in  our  community,  and  some  decisive  ac- 
tion on  questions  of  morals,  public  justice,  religious  doc- 
trine and  Christian  conversion  and  living.  Not  all  may 
have  been  wisely  thought,  said  or  done  in  these  matters,  yet 
I  deem  it  fortunate  for  me  that  there  was  so  much  of  freedom 
of  thought,  honest  sentiment,  and  of  high-toned  purpose 
and  position  in  our  town.  We  were  not  afraid  to  express 
an  opinion  or  practically  to  commit  ourselves  for  total  ab- 
stinence, or  negro  emancipation,  or  new  school  theology,  or 
revival  measures. 

It  was  no  damage  to  me  to  have  lived  from  infancy  in  a 
house  whose  cellar  never  took  in  a  barrel  of  cider  for  bev- 
erage, and  where  was  organized  the  "South  Street  Juvenile 
Temperance  Society,"  before  I  entered  my  teens.  Years 
before  the  voting  age  my  voice  was  publicly  given  for  the 
liberation  of  the  slave.  There  was  an  improved  theology 
in  those  days,  in  the  freedom  and  stimulus  of  which  my 
good  father  was  brought  into  more  active  service  in  the 
church,  and  at  length  entered  the  ministry.  Licensed  to 
preach  at  thirty-seven  years,  he  was  yet  privileged  with 
thirty  years  of  laborious,  fruitful  and  joyful  service  in  the 
pulpit.  Our  churches  in  that  period  had  faith  in  frequent 
revivals,  and  therefore  there  was  frequent  effort  in  that  di- 
rection. The  results  were  sometimes  disappointing,  but 
with  churches  maintaining  household  religion,  Bible  study 
and  careful  living,  these  revivals  proved  enlarging  and  up- 
lifting.    The  preaching  and  personal  influence  of  Charles  G. 


3§  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

Finney  was  an  inspiration  in  this  town  and  the  whole  re- 
gion, as  afterwards  widely  in  America  and  England.  I 
came  in  contact  with  him  once  only,  and  when  a  small  boy. 
Some  Christian  women  of  South  Street  had  their  prayer 
meetings.  Returning  from  school  one  day  with  the  usual 
urgency  of  an  empty  and  impatient  stomach,  my  brothers 
and  I  besieged  the  parlor  door  which  separated  our  bread 
giver  from  us.  After  what  seemed  a  long  waiting  to  us,  the 
door  suddenly  opened  and  there  stepped  out  a  vigorous 
man  with  two  great  soulful  eyes  at  whose  gaze  we  were 
mute.  He  only  said  to  us,  "Boys,  have  you  any  religion 
here?"  and  went  his  way.  The  question  was  not  forgotten; 
I  think  we  all  early  sought,  and  found  the  bread  of  heaven 
which  giveth  life  to  the  soul.  I  was  about  twelve  when  Mr. 
Fairchild  was  aided  for  a  few  days  by  Mr.  Sedgwick,  of 
Rome,  and  a  good  impression  made  in  South  Street.  If  I 
mistake  not,  Charles  Bailey,  afterwards  a  preacher  in  Mich- 
igan, and  others  had  a  boys'  prayer  meeting.  In  my  four- 
teenth year  I  was  one  of  a  large  number  who  united  with 
this  church  in  connection  with  revival  meetings  conducted 
by  Mr.  Ingersoll.  The  names  of  those  who  joined  with  me 
are  entirely  gone  from  my  memory;  but  few  of  them  may 
be  among  the  living. 

The  fervid  and  forceful  preaching  of  this  evangelist  made 
natural  impression  on  a  young  mind  already  consenting  to 
Christian  truth  and  duty,  and  a  definite  decision  was  made 
for  the  full  faith  and  following  of  Jesus.  But  the  method 
and  temper  even  of  effective  work  is  not  always  to  be  fully 
endorsed.  John  Ingersoll,  as  a  young  man,  lived  in  my 
present  parish.  His  father's  house,  kept  as  a  tavern,  was 
near  the  summit  of  one  of  our  principal  mountain  roads. 
There  are  free  airs  and  wide  views  from  those  hill  tops,  favor- 
ing a  sturdy  personality  and,  unless  disciplined,  excessive  feel- 
ing and  utterance.  Such  like  qualities  were  early  developed.  He 
studied  awhile  with  Dr.  Jackson,  the  pastor  of  our  church. 
His  learned  and  judicious  teacher  was  not  altogether 
pleased  with  the  style  of  the  young  man,  but  gave  him  op- 
portunity to  use  his  talents  in  neighborhood    meetings    and 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        39 

out  districts.  He  there  encountered  some  scepticism  and 
scoffing,  and  did  not  seem  to  have  got  the  better  of  his  im- 
passioned and  perhaps  unreasonably  severe  manner  and 
spirit. 

He    has    been    characterized    by    some  writers  as    "forci- 
ble, logical,  eloquent,  stern,  uncompromising    in    presenting 
his  views,  in  his  manner,  nervous,  quick  and    impassioned." 
One  of  his  sisters,  Mrs.  Dea.  Gilbert,    was    a    very    superior 
woman,  and  the  mother  of  several  children  who    have    been 
distinguished  in  the  learned  professions  and  in    public    life, 
of  high  moral  worth.     Great  importance  is   justly    attached 
to  pious  homes  and  Christian  motherhood  as  an  instrument- 
ality of  early  conversion  and  a  well-balanced  Christian  life. 
I  have  pleasant  testimony  on  this  point  in  an    old    book    of 
the  records  of  the  "Westmoreland    Maternal    Association." 
In    April,    1834,    Mrs.    Fairchild,    my    mother    and    several 
other  ladies  organized  this  society,  which  was  actively    sus- 
tained for  some  time.     The  old  manuscript  testifies    unmis- 
takably to  the  earnest  and  loving  endeavor  of  these  women 
to  train  their  children  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  for    pure    and 
useful  lives.     Monthly  meetings  were  held    for    mutual    in- 
struction and  prayer,  and  continuous  prayer  during  the    fol- 
lowing month  was  offered  for  some    designated    household. 
The  children  were  counted  as  members,  and  once  a    quarter 
were  brought  in  for  special  exercises.     The   names    of   over 
twenty  mothers,  or    praying    women,    and    more    than    fifty 
children  are  enrolled  on  these  pages.     Many  of  these  names 
are  now  widely  known  as  of  those  who  are  or  have    been    in 
their  generation  a  blessing  in    the    church    and    world.       In 
one  case  indeed,  as  to  Christian  character,  we  are  grievously 
disappointed,  viz.,  of  Robert  J.  Ingersoll.     He  was  too  early 
bereft  of  the  presence  and  prayers  of  his  Christian    mother. 
Perhaps  the  surviving  mothers  of  that  praying  band  did  not 
prolong  their  plea  for  him  at  the  mercy  seat.       It    may    not 
be  too  late  even  yet  for  the  praying  church  to  plead  for  the 
change  which  came  to  Saul  of  Tarsus    to    be    given    to    this 
generous  but  sadly  perverted  soul.     The  alms  and    prayers, 
the  holy  deeds  and  loves  of  the  church    of   fifty   years    ago 


40  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

are  registered  above;  most  of  those  members  are  now  prob- 
ably in  Heaven.  But  are  there  not  still  visible  such  blessed 
fruits  of  their  toils  and  tears  as  to  engage  us  in  eager 
emulation  of  the  service  of  those  who  through  faith  and 
patience  now  inherit  the  promises? 

These  anniversaries  and  centennials  disclose  some  of  the 
waymarks  of  the  course  of  church  organization  in  this  re- 
gion. Most  of  our  churches  in  northern  New  England  and 
Central  New  York  have  been  formed  during  the  past  cen- 
tury. The  processes  of  emigration  and  the  building  up  of 
the  Christian  Society,  beginning  say  in  Connecticut,  may  be 
traced  northward  and  westward,  and  all  the  way  the  pleas- 
ing relation  of  mother  and  sister  churches  unite  us  in  a 
sacred  relationship.  The  streams  are  sometimes  direct, 
sometimes  circuituos.  Westmoreland  may  have  been  con- 
stituted of  settlers  direct  from  Connecticut  and  Massachu- 
setts. But  many  of  the  members  and  ministers  of  this 
region  came  by  the  way  of  Vermont.  Our  church  of  Dorset 
was  organized  just  eight  years  before  yours,  and  that  church 
and  the  ministerial  association  of  Bennington  County  con- 
tributed largely  to  fill  the  pulpits  and  build  up  the  churches 
of  this  region.  From  the  old  parish  of  Doctors  Seth  Wil- 
liston  and  William  Jackson  went  Ira  Manley  to  Boonville, 
Ralph  Robinson  to  this  neighborhood,  and  Deacon  John 
Frost,  father  of  the  Whitesboro  pastor.  From  the  Associa- 
tion went  John  Ingersoll,  Nathaniel  Hurd,  Publius  V. 
Bogue,  at  my  baptism  pastor  of  Sauquoit,  and  Abijah  Crane, 
ordained  by  us  Oct.  19,  1824,  Dr.  Jackson  preaching  the  ser- 
mon from  Mark  8:36.  The  great  head  of  the  church  who 
once  said,  "Give  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you,"  himself 
orders  some  compensating  exchanges  of  consecrated  ser- 
vice. Under  the  conduct  of  His  higher  wisdom  and  holy 
providence,  He  does  not  suffer  the  fatal  impoverishment  in 
men  or  means  of  the  churches  which  are  zealous  for  the  ex- 
tension of  His  kingdom.  One  of  your  sons,  who  in  1846 
eagerly  sought  a  home  missionary  field  in  the  then  far  west, 
after  two  years  heard  an  imperative  injunction  to  return.  He 
was  at  once  set  at  work  within  an  hour's  drive  of   his    birth- 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        4 1 

place.  Seven  years  later  he  was  directed  to  a  Vermont 
field,  a  church  which  had  sent  forth  scores  of  pastors  or  lay 
founders  of  churches  into  New  York  and  other  states,  but 
the  loss  of  whom  was  not  seriously  regretted  because  of  the 
advantage  to  the  larger  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
And  that  same  church  has  to-day  the  happy  distinction  of 
the  longest  continued  active  pastorate  of  any  church  in  the 
state,  a  pastorate  now  lasting  nearly  thirty-seven  years. 
Their  pastor  is  a  child  of  your  church,  and  brings  you  to- 
day the  greetings  of  your  elder  sister  and  in  some  sense 
fostermother.  He  brings  his  own  grateful  acknowledge- 
ments of  your  lessons,  prayers  and  examples  of  fifty  years 
ago,  and  for  so  much  of  benign  influence  as  went  into  his 
early  preparation  for  the  holy  ministry.  Please  pardon  any 
seeming  egotism  of  this  paper;  you  asked  for  my  reminis- 
cences; personal  memories  are  not  easily  detached  from 
personal  experiences. 


By  Rev.  M.  E.  Dunham,  D.  D. 


Rev.  Dr.  Dunham,  of  Whitesboro,  delivered  a  very 
scholarly  and  interesting  address,  of  which  the  following  is 
the  substance: 

We  wander  to-day  in  the  shadowland  of  memory.  Over 
the  dusty  path  of  an  hundred  years  we  search  for  incidents, 
facts,  reminiscences,  out  of  which  to  construct  befitting  ser- 
vices for  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  this  church. 
Many  things  we  find  of  an  interesting  character,  much  that 
is  instructive,  and  more  which,  from  lack  of  record  and  from 
the  death-sealed  silence  of  eyewitnesses  or  personal  partici- 
pants, can  only  be  brought  into  seeming  reality  by  the 
magic  power  of  imagination.  The  real  history  of  no  church 
can  be  fully  written  except  by  the  recording  angel;  for  that 
history  is  made  up  of  the  visible  and  of  the  invisible;  of  that 


42  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

which  words  can  express  and  of  that  which  words  cannot 
express;  of  the  outward  act  and  the  revealed  thought  and  of 
the  inner  life  and  hidden  spirit;  but  of  the  two  the  inexpres- 
sible is  by  far  the  most  effective  in  shaping  results  and  in 
determining  usefulness.  Owing  to  our  dullness  of  spiritual 
sight  we  can  treat  only  of  the  visible;  but  how  the  thought 
of  the  invisible  presses  upon  us  !  Looking  over  the  church 
record  we  find  the  names  of  those  who,  moved  by  the  touch 
of  the  divine  spirit  or  influenced  by  the  Godly  lives  of  the 
true  servants  of  the  Master,  came  out  before  the  world  and 
registered  themselves  openly  as  soldiers  in  the  army  of  the 
Lord,  gladly  making  profession  of  faith  in  Christ;  but  who 
can  number  the  larger  class  whose  names  never  appeared 
on  the  church  roll,  but  whose  lives  were  molded  and  shaped 
by  the  unseen  influences  which  have  gone  out  from  this 
sanctuary?  In  the  final  estimate  these  unrecorded  ones  will 
have  more  weight  in  determining  the  real  work  by  this 
church  accomplished  than  will  the  list  of  its  church  mem- 
bers; for  the  unrecorded  will  tell  more  truly  what  this 
church  has  been  to  the  community  in  which  it  has  existed 
and  to  the  world  at  large.  The  value  of  a  church  is  not  so 
much  in  the  visible  harvest  it  gathers  as  in  the  extent  of 
seed-sowing  it  has  done  for  after  generations  to  reap;  not 
so  much  in  harvesting  as  in  preparing  for  future  harvests. 
Many  a  small,  plain  church,  with  a  small  roll  of  membership, 
simple  in  service,  but  warm  and  true  in  heart,  working  with- 
out ostentation  or  display,  has  done  more  for  the  world 
than  other  churches,  turreted  and  spired  and  tinseled  within 
and  without,  costly  in  appointments  of  chancel  and  of  choir, 
elaborate  in  ceremonies  and  formal  before  the  throne  of 
grace. 

Well,  here  is  a  country  church  of  an  hundred  years,  which 
has  kept  on  its  quiet  way  through  three  generations  of 
births  and  of  burials,  content  to  do  the  Master's  work,  and 
to  do  it  without  seeking  for  the  praise  of  men.  To  the 
weary  it  has  brought  rest;  to  the  heartbroken,  comfort;  to 
the  sin-sick,  healing;  to  the  returning  prodigal,  welcome; 
and  to  the  dying,  the  hope  of  heaven  and   an  eternal   home 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        43 

of  rest.  To  its  altars  the  babe  has  been  borne  to  be  christ- 
ened; from  its  altars  the  aged  have  been  borne  to  be  glori- 
fied. Bridal  song  has  alternated  with  funeral  note  along 
its  arches  as  the  changing  scenes  of  life  and  of  death  were 
enacted  within  its  walls.  To-day  it  stands  hallowed  by  a 
thousand  memories  gathered  out  of  three  generations,  and 
to  it  are  linked  the  sweet,  sad  recollections  of  many  a  home; 
for  the  church  is  the  one  treasure-house  of  the  joys  and  the 
sorrows  of  its  parishioners;  of  their  bridals  and  of  their 
burials;  of  their  births,  spiritual  and  temporal;  of  their 
feastings  and  of  their  fastings. 

This  is  especially  true  of  the  churches  of  past  days; 
and  this  church — what  a  record  it  must  have  gathered 
out  of  an  hundred  years!  For,  until  caught  by  the  spirit  of 
these  modern  and,  some  would  say,  degenerate  days,  it  dil- 
igently observed  its  feast  days  and  its  fast  days,  and  to  its 
courts  the  people  were  wont  to  come  with  their  songs  of  re- 
joicing and  wails  of  grief.  The  church  was  the  Mecca  of  all 
their  hopes  and  of  their  highest  expectations;  the  source  of 
their  comfort  and  the  foundation  of  their  consolation;  the 
one  power  whose  benediction  they  most  sincerely  desired  and 
whose  curse  they  as  sincerely  feared.  All  this  has  been 
greatly  modified  by  modern  ideas,  but  it  is  a  question 
whether  this  modification  has  not  taken  something  valuable 
out  of  human  experience. 

For  several  years  my  lot  was  cast  with  this  church  and  its 
people.  Pleasant  those  years  were  in  their  associations  and 
pleasant  they  still  are  in  memory.  During  my  pastorate 
this  church  was  prosperous,  with  a  large  congregation,  a 
flourishing  Sunday  school,  and  a  full  treasury.  A  spirit  of 
harmony,  of  personal  interest,  of  willingness  to  work  and  to 
give,  prevailed.  Here  I  found  some  of  as  warm  and  true 
friends  as  have  ever  fallen  to  my  lot,  and  I  trust  they  are 
my  friends  still,  though  to-day  I  look  in  vain  to  see  some  of 
their  faces.  Indeed,  since  I  ministered  in  this  church,  death 
has  reaped  a  large  harvest.  Where  are  the  Brighams,  the 
Stoddards,  the  Browns,  the  Clarks,  the  Newcombs,  the 
Bishops,  the  Millers,  the  Merrills,  the  Kelloggs,  the  Drapers, 


44  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

the  Lymans,  and  a  score  of  others  who  rilled  these  pews  in 
days  of  my  pastorate?  Some  of  their  descendants  occupy 
their  places,  but  they  have  passed  into  the  invisible.  Are 
they  here  to-day?  Why  not?  Have  they  lost  their  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  this  church?  Does  not  this  one  hundredth 
anniversary  stir  any  emotions  in  their  hearts?  Who  that 
believes  in  the  reality  of  spirit  life,  can  believe  that  the  so- 
called  dead  have  no  touch  of  sympathy  with  the  living;  no 
power  of  mingling  in  their  society?  I  fancy  the  old  saintly 
pillars  of  this  church  are  invisible  pillars  still,  here,  now,  to- 
day, having  lost  none  of  their  interest  in  its  welfare;  nay, 
having  an  intensified  interest;  and,  surely,  if  in  the  spirit 
life  they  have  learned  any  new  or  higher  truth,  any  broader 
conception  of  God's  love  and  mercy,  any  wider  sweep  of  hu- 
man sympathy  and  brotherhood,  any  sweeter  hope,  they 
will  be  eager  to  teach  all  these  to  their  living  descendants. 
"Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  do  service 
for  the  sake  of  them  that  shall  inherit  salvation?"  asked  the 
great  apostle  Paul,  and  surely  I  am  warranted  to  draw  the 
logical  conclusion  from  Paul's  teaching  on  this  very  point; 
and  so  I  fancy  this  church  edifice  to-day  is  full  of  spirits 
gathered  here,  at  this  anniversary,  to  recall  the  scenes  of 
their  past  labors.  No  doubt  their  songs  of  rejoicing  mingle 
with  ours  and  the  mingled  strain  swells  even  to  the  temple  in 
the  golden  city,  the  New  Jerusalem.  Why  not?  For  though 
this  church  is  localized  here,  its  membership,  its  real  con- 
stituency, extends  over  into  the  spirit  land,  and  to  compass 
its  roll  it  would  be  necessary  to  canvass  heaven,  as  well  as 
earth. 

An  hundred  years  of  record  and  the  books  are  not  closed. 
An  hundred  years  of  work  for  God  and  for  humanity,  but 
the  end  is  not  yet.  Only  the  morning  is  past,  but  the  full 
day  yet  remaineth.  The  work  of  no  church  is  done  so  long 
as  there  are  sorrowing,  suffering  hearts  to  be  comforted,  or 
sinful  hearts  to  be  healed.  Churches  should  never  die; 
never  grow  old;  rather  intensify  in  youth  and  vigor;  broaden 
in  sympathy  and  effort;  live  forever.  Creeds  may  change; 
old  errors  be  eliminated;  new  conceptions  of  the  truth    sup- 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  45 


plant  the  old;  but  the  real  life  of  the  church  changeth  not, 
because  that  life  is  of  God  in  Christ,  the  life  eternal.  Never 
was  this  life  so  active,  so  powerful,  so  onsweeping  in  the 
world  as  it  is  to-day.  True,  it  is  taking  on  new  forms  of 
expression.  We  are  learning  that  true  worship  of  God  does 
not  consist  in  doing  homage  to  creeds,  nor  in  bowing  down 
to  ceremonies,  nor. in  exclusive  churchism,  but  that  it  does 
consist  in  the  Christ-spirit  of  going  about  doing  good  to 
all  men.  We  are  learning  that  he  serves  God  best  who 
serves  his  followers  best.  May  this  church  be  abounding  in  this 
service  and  may  its  two  hundredth  anniversary  outshine  this 
as  the  full  risen  sun  outshines  the  dawning  twilight  of  the 
morning-. 


By  Rev.  Samuel  Manning. 


When  God,  by  his  miraculous  power,  had  brought  the 
Israelites  across  the  Jordan  into  the  promised  land,  he  com- 
manded Joshua  to  build  at  Gilgal  a  monument  of  the  twelve 
stones  taken  from  the  channel  of  the  river  to  remind  the 
people  of  what  he  had  done  for  them.  And  when  their 
children,  prompted  by  curiosity,  should  ask,  "what  mean  ye 
by  these  stones?"  the  fathers  were  commanded  to  tell  them 
the  marvellous  story  of  their  entrance  into  Canaan  under 
the  guidance  and  protection  of  the  ark  of  God. 

That  monument  at  Gilgal  helped  to  keep  alive  the 
thought  of  God  among  the  chosen  people.  There  is  a 
religious  significance  in  all  monuments  which  commemorate 
national  events.  Our  nation  began  by  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  W7e  celebrate  it  every  year,  recalling  the 
free  and  heroic  spirit  of  our  fathers  who  threw  off  a  foreign 
yoke;  fought  for  freedom  and  won  it.  The  battles  and  vic- 
tories which  followed  are  marked  by  memorials  which  tes- 
tify to  each  generation  what  their  freedom    has    cost.       But 


46  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

for  the  stones  of  Gilgal  there  would  have  been  no  Bunker 
Hill.  Nor  would  our  national  monuments  long  remain  if 
they  did  not  remind  the  people  of  what  God  had  done  in 
bringing  the  nation  into  being  and  preserving  its  life. 

The  greatest  danger  of  the  Israelites  was  that  of  losing 
the  thought  of  God  out  of  their  lives  and  their  history.  This 
we  are  always  in  danger  of  doing.  God  has  joined  Himself 
in  devout  minds  with  all  our  history.  Life  is  belittled  to 
those  who  have  divorced  God  in  their  minds  from  their  own 
past.  We  build  churches  to  testify  of  God.  They  are 
silent  witnesses  of  his  deeds  in  our  civil  and  religious  his- 
tory. Wood  and  stone  may  be  quickened  with  thought, 
may  confess  and  proclaim  the  sense  of  God's  goodness  and 
guidance,  which  is  the  source  of  order  and  peace  in  the 
hearts  of  men  and  in  society  Anniversaries  are  monuments 
to  keep  alive  the  remembrance  of  what  God  has  done  for 
his  people.  If  the  Israelites  were  commanded  to  recall  by 
public  act  and  formal  service,  events  which  commemorated 
God's  guidance  and  protection,  ought  we  not  to  celebrate 
events  and  periods  in  our  church  history  which  remind  us 
of  God's  care  and  benediction,  and  which  have  as  rightful 
and  important  a  place  among  Christians  as  the  stones  of 
Gilgal  had  with  Israel?  We  have  come  to  the  centennial 
day  in  the  history  of  this  church,  and  it  is  fitting  that  to-day 
this  people  should  set  up  their  Ebenezer,  their  stone  of  help, 
and  joyfully  and  thankfully  say,  "Hitherto  hath  the  Lord 
helped  us."  Let  this  anniversary  be  as  the  stones  of  Gilgal 
to  remind  you  of  what  God  has  done  for  you  in  bringing 
into  being  and  preserving  this  church  for  one  hundred 
years;  to  remind  you  that  others  have  labored  and  you  have 
entered  into  their  labors;  that  it  is  because  of  the  toils  and 
sacrifices  and  prayers  of  those  that  preceded  you,  you  have 
this  goodly  heritage. 

We  have  listened  to  the  address  which  has  given  us  the 
history  of  this  church  for  a  century.  But  no  human  pen 
can  write  the  full  history  of  a  church  of  Christ.  As  no  ar- 
tist can  transfer  to  canvas  the  glories  of  the  sunset  or  the 
charming  beauties  of  a  magnificent  landscape,  so  no  histor- 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  47 

ian  can  commit  to  paper  the  complete  history  of  this  church. 
Between  the  dates  1792  and  1892  there  is  a  history  which, 
could  we  fully  know  it,  would  stir  our  souls  with  unutterable 
emotions. 

The  statement  that  this  church  was  organized  Sept.  20, 
1792,  and  that  certain  persons  have  served  it  as  pastors  and 
elders  and  deacons,  and  that  with  more  or  less  of  outward 
change  it  has  lived  for  a  hundred  years,  is  only  a  part,  and 
the  least  valuable  part,  of  its  history.  Its  real  and  complete 
history  has  been  written  by  the  recording  angel,  and  it  will 
be  fully  known  only  when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall  be 
revealed.  Could  we  read  that  angelic  record  as  we  read 
the  human  record  which  spans  the  century,  we  should  see 
the  toil  and  sacrifices  of  those  who  organized  this  church, 
their  faith,  which  triumphed  over  the  hindrances  and  dis- 
couragements which  confronted  them,  their  hope  amid 
many  dark  and  trying  circumstances  of  brighter  and  better 
days,  and  their  prayers  for  the  benediction  of  heaven  to 
crown  their  efforts.  We  should  see  how,  as  some  laid  down 
the  burdens  and  entered  into  their  reward,  others  gladly 
took  them  up  and  patiently  and  bravely  bore  them,  and  so 
through  all  the  years  of  her  history  this  church  has  had 
those  who  loved  her  and  labored  and  prayed  for  her  pros- 
perity. We  should  see  those  seasons  of  gracious  visitation 
from  the  Lord  when  there  were  confessions  of  sin,  plead- 
ings for  pardon,  thanksgivings  for  mercies,  rejoicings  over 
sinners  converted,  and  the  countenances  of  God's  people 
shone  with  a  preternatural  radiance  from  the  spiritual  glory 
within,  as  the  face  of  Moses  shone  when  he  came  down 
from  the  mount,  or  in  faint  likeness  to  their  Master  in  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration.  All  this  we  should  see  but  a 
still  wider  vision  would  be  granted  us.  We  should  see  the 
whole  number  of  those  whose  names  have  been 
written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life,  through  the  ministry 
and  teaching  of  the  word  in  this  church,  all  the  lives  that 
have  been  ennobled  by  the  Christian  influence  here  exerted, 
and  all  the  triumphant  deaths  of  those  who  have  gone  to 
see  the  King    in  his  beauty.     Would    not    our    hearts    thrill 


48  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

under  such  a  revelation  ?  How  much  that  is  most  valuable 
in  the  history  of  a  church  must  be  unknown  to  us  because 
it  can  never  be  written.  The  good  accomplished  by  this 
church  during  the  century  can  be  known  only  as  we  know 
the  utmost  sweep  of  its  influence  in  blessing  the  world  and 
fulfilling  the  petition  in  our  Lord's  prayer,  "Thy  kingdom 
come." 

How  many  sweet  memories  connected  with  the  living  and 
the  dead  are  interwoven  with  the  history  of  this  church. 
Rev.  Asa  Bullard,  in  an  interesting  book  which  he  has 
made  the  memorial  of  his  own  live,  describes  a  closet  in  his 
boyhood  home  where,  when  he  first  consecrated  himself  to 
God,  he  used  to  retire  for  prayer.  Many  years  after,  while 
visiting  his  early  home,  he  looked  into  that  closet  and  found 
that  his  mother  was  in  the  habit  of  using  the  place  for  the 
same  purpose.  He  says,  "What  a  hallowed  spot  did  it  seem 
to  me!  A  thrill  of  sacred  awe  came  over  me  and  I  seemed 
to  hear  a  voice  saying  :  'Put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet, 
for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground.'"  As  we 
think  of  all  the  sacred  associations  of  the  past,  and  seem  to 
hear  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise  echoing  back  and  forth 
across  the  ceutury,  may  we  not  truly  say,  This  is  a  hallowed 
spot?  O,  the  precious  memories  which  even  death  cannot 
destroy  ! 

Permit  me  to  say  that  the  years  I  spent  with  you  are 
among  the  pleasantest  of  my  ministry  and  shall  never  be 
forgotten. 

In  closing  I  can  utter  no  better  wish  for  you  than  that 
which  Paul  expressed  for  the  Ephesian  Church,  "That  God 
would  grant  you,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  glory,  to  be 
strengthened  with  might  by  his  spirit  in  the  inner  man; 
that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith;  that  ye,  being 
rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  comprehend 
with  all  saints  what  is  the  breadth  and  length  and  depth 
and  height,  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  which  passeth 
knowledge,  that  ye  may  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of 
God." 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        49 


Letters  from  the  Absent. 

READ  BY  DEACON  JAMES  BELL,  SECRETARY. 


From  Dan  P.  Eells,  Cleveland,  O. 
There  is  perhaps  not  a  person  now  living  in  Westmore- 
land who  would  have  any  recollection  whatever  of  me,  and 
few  who  would  remember  my  honored  father.  Yet  I  have 
a  vivid  remembrance  of  the  little  house  where  I  was  born, 
and  of  the  old  church  which  was  my  father's  first  and  long- 
est pastoral  charge.*  I  was  born  in  the  house  occupied  by 
my  father  during  his  entire  pastorate  which  I  presume  is 
the  present  parsonage,  on  April  16,  1825,  and  was  the  young- 
est of  six  children,  (five  boys  and  one  girl)  who  lived  to 
maturity,  and  am  now  the  only  survivor  of  my  father's 
family. 

*  The  first  fire  I  ever  saw  was  the  burning,  one  Sunday  forenoon,  when  everybody 
was  in  church,   of  the  only   public  house   in  the   village,    popularly   called   Bell's 


From  Mrs.  Deborah  S.  Crandall,  Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
I  would  love  to  meet  all  of  my  old  friends  once  more,  but 
I  am  not  able  to  attend  this  meeting.  I  am  now  86  years 
old  and  the  infirmities  of  old  age  and  deafness  prevent  my 
going  from  home.  I  shall  think  of  you  all  on  that  day,  and 
many  recollections  of  the  past  will  come  to  my  mind  and  I 
will  wonder  if  there  will  be  many  of  the  old,  old  friends 
present. 


From  Rev.  Anson  J.  Upson,  Glens  Falls,  N.  Y. 
In  my  boyhood  that  part  of  the  town  of  Westmoreland 
where  the  descendants  of  the  late  Judge  Deane  still  reside, 
was  a  paradise  to  me.  There  I  spent  many  a  happy  summer 
and  winter  day.  In  driving  from  Utica,  in  those  days,  we 
passed    through    what    was    then    the    pleasant    village    of 


50  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

Hampton.  I  am  glad  you  have  changed  the  name  and 
taken  that  of  your  native  township.  In  my  youth  your  old 
church  was  a  landmark,  and  even  then  a  venerable  building, 
but  far  less  attractive  than  your  present  house  of  worship. 
Yet  I  remember  that  the  worshippers  of  those  days,  many 
of  whom,  like  the  Deanes,  drove  miles  to  the  services  did 
not  suffer  for  the  lack  of  light  or  fresh  air.  In  later  years, 
while  a  professor  in  Hamilton  College,  it  was  my  privilege 
to  deliver  literary  lectures  and  to  preach  frequently  to  your 
people.  The  audiences  which  gathered  in  your  comfortable 
church  were  remarkable  for  their  intelligence  and,  as  I  re- 
member them,  for  their  patience.  I  wish  I  could  recollect 
the  names  of  all  whose  faces  I  so  well  remember;  the  gen- 
tle, faithful  Deacon  Brown,  and  Mr.  Allen,  and  many  others 
who  are  now  worshipping  in  a  temple  not  built  with  hands. 
To  Dr.  Beckwith  and  others,  still  living,  I  am  indebted  for 
many  courteous  attentions.  How  many  able,  faithful  pas- 
tors have  been  the  instructors  of  your  people  and  have 
broken  for  you  the  bread  of  life  !  What  a  roll  of  honor  it 
is  !  The  name  of  James  Eells  would  be  a  jewel  among  the 
treasures  of  any  parish.  His  distinguished  son,  the  late 
James  Eells,  professor  in  Lane  Seminary,  was  born,  I  be- 
lieve, in  your  parsonage.  Franklin  Spencer,  that  Boanerges 
in  the  pulpit,  was  not  as  gentle  as  the  Apostle  John,  yet 
you  had  the  utmost  confidence  in  him,  for  you  knew  him  to 
be  as  sincere  and  true  in  his  convictions,  in  his  word 
and  in  his  work  as  the  author  of  the  fourth 
Gospel.  It  may  not  be  quite  becoming  for  me  to 
speak  with  freedom  of  my  brother  James  Deane,  still 
living,  but  in  my  judgment,  you  never  had  a  minister  more 
thoughtful,  intelligent,  wise  and  faithful  to  your  best  in- 
terest than  he.  Since  my  compulsory  banishment  from 
Oneida  County,  I  have  known  less  of  your  ministers  and 
your  people,  but,  from  time  to  time,  I  have  rejoiced  in  the 
evidences  of  your  continued  prosperity.  It  is  my  earnest 
hope  and  prayer  that  the  second  century  of  your  history 
may  be  ever  more  spiritually  and  temporally  prosperous 
than  the  one  just  closed. 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        5  I 

From  Rev.  James  Eells,  Englewood,  N.  J. 
The    church    to    which    my    grandfather   ministered    for 
twenty-one  years  (1804-1825)  the  church  in  whose  seats  my 
uncles  and  father  sat  as  weary,  yet  brave  little  boys,    during 
grandfather's  seventeenthly,  and  improvement;    the    church 
with  a  history  such    as   yours    of   usefulness    to    men,    and 
praise  to  God  ;  surely  such  a  church  is  worthy  of  all    vener- 
ation and  tenderest  love.     A  full,  round    century    of   power 
and  prayer;  a    glorious    congregation    of   those    who    have 
gone  before  joining   with    the    congregation    of   those    who 
wait  for  the  "little  while"  to  be  accomplished;  heaven  and 
earth  linked  together  in    the    bonds    of   kindred    and    love. 
Yours  is  a  magnificent  privilege  in  being  able  thus    to    cele- 
brate the  Centennial  Day.    I  give  you  and  the  church  heart- 
iest greeting.     God  bless  you  for  the    closing    century,    and 
in  the  blessing  fit  you  for  nobler  years,  and  more  consecrat- 
ed, yet  to  come. 

[This  Rev.  James  Eells  was  the  son  of  James  Eells,  D.  D.,  who  was  the  son  of  Rev 
James  Eells,  who  was  the  son  of  Rev.  James  Eells,  who  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Edward 
Eells,  who  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Eells,  who  was  the  sou  of  Rev.  Nathaniel 
Eells,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  1696,  and  pastor  during  life  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Scituate,  Mass.] 


From  Rev.  L.  A.  Sawyer. 
I  send  you  an  outline  of  my  pastorate  in  Westmoreland. 
I  visited  the  church  as  a  candidate  and  preached  my  first 
sermons  on  the  8th  and  15th  of  October,  1854.  I  received 
a  call  to  settle  with  you,  and  I  immediately  brought  on  my 
family  and  entered  on  pastoral  duties,  but  was  not  installed 
till  Feb.  7th,  1855.  Rev-  Simeon  North,  D.  D.,  of  Hamilton 
College,  preached  the  sermon.  Rev.  Dr.  Vermilye,  then 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Clinton,  made  the  installing  prayer. 
Rev.  Mr.  Pfatt,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Madison,  presided 
/  and  charged  the  people,  and  gave  the  right  hand  of  fellow- 
ship to  the  pastor,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Brace,  Presbyterian  minis- 
ter from  Utica,  charged  the  pastor.  I  have  no  remembrance 
of  ever  witnessing  more  impressive  services  than  were  those 
of  that  occasion.  I  labored  with  the  church  at  Westmore- 
land five  years,  until  the  fall  of  1858,  when  I  was  at    my    re- 


52  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

quest  dismissed  from  my  charge  and  from  the  Association, 
but  my  sincere  affection  for  that  charge  and  for  the  Asso- 
ciation has  in  all  these  years  suffered  no  decline. 


From  Mrs.  F.  A. Spencer,  Adrian,  Mich. 

To  my  husband,  whose  form  lies  in  your  quiet  cemetery, 
no  place  was  dearer  than  Westmoreland,  and  no  church 
held  so  large  a  place  in  his  affections  and  his  prayers.  Al- 
most the  last  office  that  he  performed  was  to  attend  the 
burial  service  of  one  of  the  older  members  of  the  church, 
coming  home  weary,  and  feeling  that  the  time  would  be  short 
when  he,  too,  should  be  laid  to  rest  in  the  same  place  of 
repose. 

For  the  sake  of  your  dear  mother,  who  was  always  a  val- 
ued friend,  and  many  others  who  hold  a  warm  place  in  my 
memory,  the  church  of  Westmoreland  will  always  be  a  sacred 
spot. 


From  Rev.  L.  J.  Sawyer,  Amsterdam,  N.  Y. 
For  about  four  years  I  was  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  at  Westmoreland;  that  was  thirty-six  years 
ago.  When  my  father  moved  from  Sacketts  Harbor  to 
Hampton  I  was  living  in  Toledo,  O.  In  December,  1854,  I 
returned  home  to  Hampton,  and  spent  nearly  two  years  in 
preparation  for  college  at  the  school,  then  taught  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Moody,  at  the  Spring  House.  Those  days  shine  in 
memory  with  the  wondrous  light  and  beauty  of  youth. 
Shortly  after  my  coming  to  Hampton  a  gentleman  by  the 
name  of  Curry  became  chorister.  At  that  time  the  church 
owned  a  parsonage  and  a  few  acres  of  land  across  the  creek, 
and  on  the  lower  corner  of  the  lot  was  a  small  cottage  where 
a  worthy  old  man  and  his  wife,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  White,  lived. 
Having  survived  friends  and  relatives  and  become  infirm 
they  waited    patiently    for   the    summons    that    should    bid 

•   them  enter  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord.     During  father's  pas- 
torate there  occurred  the  struggle  in    Kansas    to    determine 

I  whether  that  state  should  be  a  slave  state    or    a    free    state. 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        53 

At  one  of  these  conflicts  between  free  state  and  pro-slavery 
parties,  John  Brown's  son  was  killed,  and  father  preached  a 
sermon  one  Sabbath  morning  defending  John  Brown,  and 
denouncing  what  was  called  "border  ruffianism."  On  the 
following  Monday  morning  a  committee  called  at  our  house 
and  requested  that  the  address  be  written  out  and  given  to 
them  for  publication,  which  was  accordingly  done.  In  think- 
ing of  these  days  some  names  of  friends  connected  with  the 
church  come  to  mind.  Deacons  Bishop,  Townsend,  Bliss 
and  families,  Drs.  Loomis,  Hardin/  Halleck  and 
families,  Mr.  Patton  and  family,  several  families  of 
Clarks,  and  others  whose  names  are  not  in  my  memory  at 
this  moment.  The  relations  between  the  church  at  Hamp- 
ton and  my  father  were  of  the  most  endearing  kind.  No  harsh 
words  were  ever  spoken  by  either  party  to  mar  the  friend- 
ship which  should  bind  pastor  and  people  together  as  one 
family  in  Christ  Jesus.  And  to-day  you  are  assembled  to 
remember  the  past  century  and  look  forward  to  the  future. 
For  one  hundred  years  has  the  gospel  been  proclaimed 
from  this  centre  of  spiritual  influence.  How  much  of  the 
joy  and  sorrow  does  this  period  of  time  witness  in  every  fam- 
ily. The  young  grow  old  and  enter  into  rest  and  their  chil- 
dren's children  meet  here  to-day.  The  years  come  and  go 
and  the  centuries  are  numbered  into  eternity  of  the  past, 
but  the  Christian  church  holds  its  appointed  place  in  earth, 
and  in  heaven  the  same  family  of  the  redeemed. 


From  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Porter,  Kingston,  III. 
"I  was  born  Sept.  17,  1813,  and  baptised  in  infancy  by 
Rev.  John  Frost.  I  go  back  in  memory  to  about  the  time 
when  the  meeting  house  was  placed  on  its  present  site,  dur- 
ing the  pastorate  of  Rev.  James  Eclls.  It  was  the  custom 
to  have  two  sermons  on  Sunday  with  a  short  intermission 
between  the  services,  and  in  mid-winter  this  was  very  trying, 
as  there  was  no  apparatus  for  warming  the  house.  I  re- 
member seeing  Rev.  Abijah  Crane  preaching  in  a  heavy 
overcoat  with  mittens  on  his  hands.  But  it  was  a  notable 
day  when  a  tall  three-story  Philadelphia    stove    was    set    up, 


J 


54  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

and  under  the  management  of  Brother  Newcomb  sent  its 
genial  warmth  around  among  the  square  pews  through  the 
meeting  house.  Early  in  the  winter  of  1825,  when  about  12 
years  old,  I  came  to  meeting  in  the  church  in  Westmoreland 
one  Sabbath  morning  and  saw  a  stranger  in  the  pulpit  with 
Rev.  Abijah  Crane;  it  was  Rev.  C.  G.  Finney;  the  text  was 
Prov.  22:6,  "Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go;  and 
when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it."  I  give  one  tem- 
perance illustration  from  that  sermon.  Parents,  he  said, 
will  pray  that  their  children  may  possess  a  true  Christian 
spirit  while  they  lead  them  in  the  opposite  direction. 
For  instance,  a  Christian  mother  will  go  away  and 
pray,  "O  Lord  grant  that  my  little  daughter  may  be  a  hum- 
ble Christian  child,"  and  then  she  will  go  and  dress  her  up 
in  all  the  finery  possible,  until  her  little  heart  is  as  proud  as 
Satan.  Why  it  is  just  as  if  a  professor  of  religion  were  to 
pray,  "Grant  me,  O  Lord,  the  grace  of  Christian  sobriety," 
and  then  were  to  go  to  the  side  board  and  pour  down  a  half 
pint  of  brandy.  One  remark  made  on  the  Gospel 
as  the  power  of  God  is  worthy  to  be  repeated:  The 
gospel,  he  said,  when  brought  to  bear  on  the  human  mind> 
will  produce  results  as  a  sharp  sword  properly  applied  will 
cut,  but  many  destroy  the  effect  of  it  by  winding  it  round 
and  round  and  swathing  it  in  a  garland  of  rhetorical  flowers. 
When  about  15  years  old  I  joined  the  church.  The  day 
I  was  examined,  at  the  close,  Judge  Enos  tried  to  have  the 
rule  dropped  which  excluded  adhering  Free  Masons  from 
Church  fellowship,  but  he  did  not  succeed.  In  anti- 
slavery  times  the  Congregational  Church  of  Westmoreland 
stood  firm  in  the  front  ranks,  exerting  a  happy  influence  for 
righteousness  and  humanity.  But  enough.  May  the  dear 
Lord  bless  the  church  and  pastor  and  this  memorial  gather- 
ing, and  build  up  his  kingdom  gloriously. 


From  James  Eells  Crane,  Pueblo,  Col. 
It  is  with  a  feeling  of  most  sincere  regret    I    find    myself 
unable  to  accept  your  cordial  and  very  welcome  invitation  to 
be  present  with  you  at  the  centennial  exercises    of  the  First 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        55 

Congregational  Church  at  Westmoreland,  on  the    20th    inst. 

There  are,  indeed,  few  living,  who  find  the  chords  of  mem- 
ory and  loving  association  drawing  them  more  closely  or 
strongly  to  the  people  who  formed  the  first  flock  to  whom 
my  honored  father  broke  the  "bread  of  life,"  and  under 
whose  ministering  care  many  souls  were  born  into  the  spirit- 
ual kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

To  the  old  parsonage,  where  were  born  my  brothers  and 
sisters,  where  I  was  born,  and  to  the  old  church,  where  in 
baptism  I  was  dedicated  to  the  service  of  my  Redeemer, 
by  faithful  hearts,  and  received  the  name,  long  loved  and 
much  revered,  of  the  former  pastor,  James  Eells,  of  whom 
the  president  of  our  company  here  is  the  last  surviving 
child,  Dan  P.  Eells,  full  of  years  and  honors,  and  in  this  con- 
nection it  may  not  be  amiss  to  state,  showing  the  brotherly 
affection  of  those  days,  that  Dan  and  my  oldest  brother,  in 
whose  ages  there  was  a  difference  of  only  six  weeks,  were 
rocked  in  the  same  cradle. 

It  is  little  I  can  add  that  can  be  a  source  of  interest  to  the 
generation  now  living,  as  infant  memories  recall  only  vague 
outlines,  and  infrequent  visits  to  the  old  home  in  childhood 
years  are  barren  of  those  features  which  arrest  the  attention 
or  quicken  the  memory  of  those  present  with  you  to-day. 

Deacon  Halbert,  Captain  Lyman,  Dr.  Chester,  Warren 
Converse,  and  the  Enos  and  Townsend  families,  were  house- 
hold names  thro  all  my  earlier  years,  and  in  later  years  that 
of  Rev.  F.  A.  Spencer,  who,  always  a  personal  friend  of  my 
father,  assisted  at  the  exercises,  where  all  paid  their  tribute 
of  respect  and  love  as  he  was  borne  to  his  earthly  tomb.  I 
can  never  forget  him  as  he  gave  out  the  hymn  on  that  occa- 
sion— 

"Servant  of  God,  well  done, 
Rest  from  thy  blest  employ." 

My  father  died  at  our  home  in  Clinton,  May  14,  1847.  Near- 
ly half  a  century  has  passed,  but  the  memory  of  his  godly 
life,  his  intense  devotion  to  all  that  was  pure  and  good, 
lovely  and  of  good  report,  his  sympathy  for  the  poor,  needy 
and  oppressed,  his  utter  detestation  of  all  that  was  mean, low 


56  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

or  crooked,  has  been  with  all  his  children  a  power  for  good, 
thro  all  their  lives. 

Prompt  in  decision,  he  never  waited  the  stamp  of  popular 
approval  for  any  movement  that  promised  the  elevating 
or  ennobling  of  our  kind,  but  plunged  at  once  into  the  bat- 
tle. Among  our  family  traditions,  there  are  few  that  we  re- 
call with  more  satisfaction  than  that  he  formed  the  first 
Temperance  Association  west  of  Albany,  and  was  heart  and 
soul  in  sympathetic  effort  with  Beriah  Green,  Gerrit  Smith 
and  others  in  Central  New  York,  to  stir  up  the  mind  of  the 
people  against  the  crime  and  incubus  of  slavery,  that  had  al- 
ready spread  a  pall  over  all  the  land  ;  and  inheriting  his 
father's  patriotic  zeal,  his  second  son,  Col.  L.  H.  D.  Crane, 
yielded  up  his  life  in  the  full  vigor  of  early  manhood  on 
the  battle  field  of  Cedar  Mountain,  1862.  A  hundred  times  he 
said  to  me,  "This  war  will  be  an  utter  failure  if  it  doesn't  re- 
sult in  the  complete  and  utter  destruction  of  slavery." 

Of  his  other  children,  Edwin  Hall  was  the  eldest  son  and 
child,  born  May  31,  1825,  graduating  with  the  highest  honors 
at  Hamilton  College  in  1845.  Studying  law  with  his  mater- 
nal uncle,  Willis  Hall,  Attorney-General  of  the  state,  we 
looked  for  success  and  honors  in  civil  life,  for  which  his  high 
intellectual  attainments  seemed  specially  to  fit  him.  Some 
time  in  doubt  as  to  his  future  work,  his  decision  was  not 
finally  made  until  it  came  in  a  letter  as  father  lay  dying,  and 
only  a  few  hours  before  his  death,  in  which  he  gave 
himself  in  the  fullest  consecration  to  the  work  of 
the  Christian  ministry.  On  hearing  the  letter 
read,  on  coming  to  this  decision,  father  raised  his  hand  and 
said,  "Stop  !  God  bless  my  son  in  his  choice ;  it  is  worthy 
the  ministry  of  angels."  Pursuing  his  studies  at  Auburn 
Theological  Seminary  he  offered  his  services  to  the  A.  B.  C. 
F.  M.  and  was  sent  to  the  Mission  of  the  Nestorians.  Short- 
ly after  arriving  at  Ooromiah  he  was  sent  to  the  mission 
station  of  Gawar,  in  the  mountains  of  Kurdistan,  learning 
the  language  and  customs  of  the  people  with  whom  his 
lot  was  cast.  Visiting  the  governor  of  the  district  after  a 
residence  of  only  a  few  months,    he    contracted    from    him 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.        57 

typhus  fever,  from  which  he  died,  after  an  illness  of  only  ten 
days,  on  the  27th  of  August,  1854.  His  spirit  still  lingers  on 
those  mountain  sides,  and  for  years  after  his  death  the  sick 
were  brought  from  far  and  near  to  his  grave,  in  the  hope 
that  healing  power  might  come  from  the  tomb  of  so  good  a 
man. 

Among  those  who  will  address  you  is  the  name  of  Rev. 
Parsons  S.  Pratt,  whom  I  well  remember,  as  well  as  his  fath- 
er and  brother  Sereno  B.  Pratt,  and  who  will  remember 
brother  Edwin. 

Of  my  sisters,  Helen  Everest,  born  in  1828,  was  a  beautiful 
illustration  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit.  She  died  in  early 
womanhood,  in  1857.  My  other  sister  still  lives,  the  widow 
of  Chas.  Anthony,  Esq.,  at  Gouverneur,  New  York. 

As  the  only  surviving  son  of  him  whose  memory  is  still 
green  among  you,  it  may  not  be  unfitting  that,  assembled  as 
you  are,  children  and  grandchildren  of  his  generation,  I  shall 
speak  for  him.  Could  those  white  lips  speak  they  would 
still  testify  to  the  eternal  truth,  that  redeeming  love,  as  re- 
vealed to  us  in  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  only  hope  of  a  lost  world, 
and  amid  all  the  strifes,  never  for  a  moment  lose  our  faith  in 
its  ultimate  victory  over  sin  and  the  grave.  Never  lower  the 
standard  nor  abate  one  jot  or  tittle  of  that  ardor,  which 
should  burn  brighter  and  brighter  until  the  perfect  day. 


From  Rev.  James  Deane,  Crown  Point,  N.  Y. 

When  I  first  visited  the  church  as  a  candidate  for  the  then 
vacant  pulpit,  the  impression  made  upon  myself  by  the  ap- 
pearance and  demeanor  of  the  congregation  was  in  all  re- 
spects most  happy.  The  order  and  attention  during  the 
hour  of  divine  service,  the  cordiality  of  feeling  manifest  in 
the  exchange  of  greetings  by  those  present  from  diverse 
localities  argued  a  fortunate  condition  in  social  affairs — a 
conclusion  not  contradicted  by  much  longer  observation 
and  acquaintance. 

The  Deacons  of  the  Church  then  in  office  were:  Warren 
Kellogg,  Bushnell  Bishop  and  Sheldon  W.  Stoddard. 
Deacon  Kellogg  was  already  far  advanced    in    age,    and    by 


58  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

reason  of  consequent  infirmity  unable  to  act  in  his  office. 
But  he  was  always  present  at  morning  service  on  the 
Lord's  Day,  when  attendance  was  practicable.  The  good 
old  man's  experience  affords  a  striking  instance  of  the 
power  and  permanence  of  radical  religious  impressions. 
While  at  his  great  age  memory  grew  dull  concerning  other 
matters,  he  always  knew  when  Sunday  came  and  was  eager 
to  be  in  his  place  at  church,  even  though  he  could  hear 
very  little  of  the  service,  or  indeed  recognize  many  of  the 
others  in  attendance.  He  was  truly  of  that  blessed  com- 
pany "who  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age." 

Deacon  Bishop  removed  to  Oneida  a  few  months  after 
my  accession;  but  the  brief  opportunity  for  acquaintance 
served  to  impress  an  excellent  opinion  of  his  substantial 
worth  and  sincere  piety.  With  Deacon  Stoddard  I  enjoyed 
an  acquaintance  deepening  into  intimacy  for  nearly  nine 
years,  upon  which  I  often  look  back  with  thankfulness. 
There  is  abundant  reason  for  gratitude  in  having  known  so 
true  a  man;  it  is  especially  good  fortune  to  enjoy  the  coun- 
sel and  friendship  of  such.  Many  will  recall  distinctly  his 
personal  appearance,  his  frame  and  figure.  He  was  robust 
and  broad  shouldered,  in  more  than  one  sense.  A  loyal, 
willing  bearer  of  burdens;  not  afraid  to  see  or  to  assume 
legitimate  responsibility.  With  a  cool  brain  and  a  warm 
heart,  he  furnished  a  specimen  of  that  fortunate  paradox,  a 
conservative  radical.  A  thoroughly  good  man  in  all  rela- 
tions when  I  first  met  him,  while  the  years  sped  he  grew  in 
grace  most  truly;  his  spirit  softened,  his  vision  broadened, 
his  humility  deepened;  so  when  on  that  July  Sabbath  in  1876 
God  called  him  hence,  all  knew  that  for  him  it  was  only 
"to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better." 

Of  others  also  beside  these  officers  of  the  church  in  that 
day  it  would  be  easy  to  write  in  tender  esteem.  The  oldest 
member  of  the  church  at  the  time  was  William  Newcomb, 
"Father  Newcomb,"  of  blessed  memory.  He  was  the  first 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School  as  originally  organized 
in  18 18,  if  facts  are  recalled  aright.  Too  infirm  for  much 
outward  activity,  his  sweet  spirit  and  calmly    confident    out- 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 


59 


look  toward  Eternity  were  lesson  and  inspiration  for  us  all. 
With  these  names  I  could  recall  a  score  and  more  of  God- 
ly men  and  women  who  have  passed  on  "to  the  rest  that 
remaineth."  "Not  lost,  but  gone  before."  And  yet  amid 
teeming  opportunities  for  earthly  service  there  must  remain 
a  goodly  assembly  of  those  who  can  also  recall  the  graces  of 
these  departed  saints  "whose  faith  we  certainly  may  follow, 
considering  the  end  of  their  conversation." 

In  relation  to  the  spirit  and  work  of  the  dear  church,  let 
it  be  allowed  me  to  say  here,  that  in  no  instance  coming  im- 
mediately under  my  own  own  observation  have  I  found  an 
equal  number  of  church  members  less  tenacious  of  personal 
plan  and  choice,  or  more  ready  to  yield  these  for  the  sake 
of  the  good  cause,  and  the  soul-profit  of  others. 

Among  other  matters  for  grateful  remembrance,    I    ought 
not  to  omit  all  mention  of  the  healthful  growth  of  the    Sun- 
day School,  and  the  influence   of   the   work   wrought  there 
upon  the  type  of  piety  prevalent    since,    scriptural    in    its 
structure.     Doubtless  this  is  as  much  a  joy  to   others   as   to 
myself.     But  let  me  emphasize  the  fact  that  this  growth  was 
not  due  to  any  hothouse    methods,    or   to   factitious   attrac- 
tions.    It  was  simply  the  consequence  of  honest  painstaking 
by  all  concerned,  officers,  teachers   and    scholars;  a  sincere 
magnifying  of  the  Word  of  God,  given  for  mankind.      I  do 
not   now  recall  that  we   ever  had  a  single   Sunday  School 
concert  or  any  spectacular  exercise.     But  we  did  have  live 
scholars,  praying  teachers,  a  spirit  of  work  and  the  blessing 
of  Heaven.     Another  relation  in  which  the  influence  of  the 
church  was  effectively  exerted  was  that  of  its  fellowship    in 
the  local  association,  now  known  as  the  O.  C.  &  D.    Almost 
invariably  represented  in  the  meetings  of  that  body,  and  by 
those  of  diverse  age  or  gifts,    the    church    maintained    itself 
most  happily  in  the  esteem  and  fellowship  of  sister  church- 
es, and  contributed  in  no   small    degree   to   the   spirituality 
and    evangelistic   earnestness    of   its    meetings.      For   real 
saturation  with  the  Spirit  I  have  never  known    any    meeting 
of  other  Christian  bodies  that  excelled  the  gathering   of   O. 
C.  &  D.  at  Westmoreland  in    1875.      Anticipated    by   much 


60  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

prayer,  the  sincerity  of  its  devotional  elements,  the  sympa- 
thetic temper  of  its  other  exercises,  culminating  in  a  sacra- 
mental service  of  peculiar  tenderness;  none  who  shared  its 
sessions  can  forget  their  fragrance  even  now. 

But  this  writing  must  not  be  prolonged,  though  you  will 
believe  me  when  saying  it  is  not  easy  to  stop.  Recollec- 
tions of  events  and  of  the  persons  concerned  in  them  throng 
upon  me  while  I  write.  The  memory  of  favors  received  in 
unmerited  abundance,  of  forbearance  extended  right  often, 
of  lessons  learned  while  trying  to  teach, — of  these  and 
other  matters  I  could,  but  may  not,  longer  write. 


From  Rev.  Isaac  O.  Best,  Broadalbin,  N.  Y. 
My  first  acquaintance  with  Westmoreland  was  at  a  Fel- 
lowship Meeting  when  green  corn  and  other  good  things 
were  provided  bountifully.  The  presiding  genius  of  the  oc- 
casion was  your  pastor,  Rev.  James  Deane,  whom  I  had 
known  in  the  war  time.  At  that  reunion  I  found  out  that 
the  good  people  of  Westmoreland  knew  how  to  cook  and 
how  to  be  generous  with  their  good  things.  Further  ac- 
quaintance confirmed  this  good  opinion,  especially  when 
you  began  to  ask  me  to  preach  occasionally.  I  knew  that 
you  only  sent  for  me  when  you  couldn't  get  anybody  else 
to  preach  for  you,  yet  you  were  always  good  listeners  and 
good  listeners  make  the  poorest  preacher  happy.  You  call- 
ed for  me  to  preach  for  you  about  thirty  times  (more  or 
less)  during  the  intervals  of  your  regular  pastorates,  so 
that  I  got  to  feel  almost  like  a  pastor  emeritus  to  your 
church.  It  is  very  gratifying  to  me  that  you  have  remem- 
bered me  in  this  time  of  rejoicing.  Every  recollection  that 
I  have  of  your  church  is  pleasant ;  even  the  kindness  of  the 
good  brother  who  sent  me  marked  copies  of  The  Voice  to 
convince  me  of  the  unrighteousness  of  being  a  Republican 
and  a  preacher  at  the  same  time,  is  highly  appreciated. 
From  the  bottom  of  my  heart  I  congratulate  you  on  reach- 
ing, as  a  church  of  Christ,  your  hundredth  birthday.  The 
friends  of  an  aged  man  were  celebrating  his  hundredth 
birthday,  when  one    of    them    said,    "Well,    uncle,    you    can 


WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.  6l 

hardly  expect  to  live  another  hundred  years."  "I  don't 
know  about  that,"  was  his  reply,  "for  I  am  beginning  this 
century  with  a  great  deal  more  strength  than  I  had  when  I 
began  the  last."  I  am  sure  that  you  are  beginning  the 
second  century  of  your  church  life  with  a  great  deal  more 
strength  than  the  church  had  one  hundred  years  ago.  The 
future  is  surely  as  full  of  blessings  from  the  good  hand  of 
God  as  the  past  has  been.  Looking  back  over  a  hundred 
years  of  rich  experience,  seeing  how  God  has  been  with 
you  all  the  century,  counting  up  these  who  have  been 
born  again  into  the  church  and  those  who  have  gone  to 
glory  from  it,  remembering  that  He  who  redeemed  them  is 
the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever,  you  can  certainly 
look  forward  into  the  coming  century  with  hope  and  con- 
fidence that  God  will  still  continue  to  bless  you  and  make  you 
a  blessing.  That  this  may  be  the  effect  upon  all  your  hearts 
is  the  prayer  of  your  humble  servant  in  Christ  Jesus. 


From  Rev.  Nestor  Light,  Harford,  Pa. 
I  heartily  congratulate  you  on  reaching  your  one  hun- 
dredth year  as  a  church,  and  mingle  my  rejoicing  with  yours. 
When  I  entered  upon  my  work  I  had  no  doubts  as  to  the 
loving  power  of  my  Saviour;  I  had  many  concerning  my 
own  ability.  I  found  the  church  in  an  inharmonious  con- 
dition, though  perfectly  united  in  me.  Substantial  harmony 
was  maintained  throughout  my  pastorate.  An  early  event 
in  my  pastorate  was  my  own  ordination,  March  15,  1883. 
One  of  the  first  effects  of  my  pastoral  work  was  the  break- 
ing of  a  spiritual  dead-lock  standing  for  some  time,  during 
which  none  had  joined  the  church.  From  time  to  time  five 
were  received  on  profession  of  their  faith,  and  two  by  letter. 
One  infant  was  baptized.  Nothing  like  a  revival  occurred, 
although  we  had  seasons  of  deep  prayerfulness.  The  prayer 
meeting  was  fairly  well  sustained.  Our  missionary  collec- 
tions during  the  whole  period  were  good,  and  in  one  year 
reached  high-water  mark,  about  $100.  The  ladies'  mission- 
ary society  was  ably  sustained.  They  had  good  reason  to 
feel  proud  of  their  efforts  in  those  days.  The  Sunday  school 


62  WESTMORELAND  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

was  in  a  prosperous  condition  during  my  pastorate. 
There  was  much  seriousness  in  the  study  of  the  Word.  Novel 
reviews  in  short  essays  and  two  minute  talks  were  success- 
fully introduced.  Concert  exercises  for  Children's  Day  were 
very  successful.  The  County  Sunday  School  Convention, 
held  with  us,  was  regarded  by  many  visitors  as  superior  to 
the  State  Convention.  The  Sunday  School,  I  recollect,  took 
deep  satisfaction  in  taking  an  annual  collection  for  the 
homeless  children  of  New  York  City.  I  turn  here  to  the  saddest 
side  of  my  work,  the  burial  of  the  dead.  Irving  Stoddard 
was  the  first  member  of  the  church  to  die.  All  bore  witness 
to  his  Christian  character.  Several  others  died  and  were 
buried  in  those  years.  The  last  year  of  my  pastorate  was 
marked  by  the  erection  of  the  present  parsonage,  one  of  the 
most  comfortable  in  northern  New  York.  I  believe  the 
trustees  worked  for  this  result  with  great  unanimity  and 
zeal.  The  work  was  undertaken  and  accomplished,  free  of 
debt.under  the  conviction  that  it  was  a  vital  necessity  in  the 
life  of  the  church.  Near  the  close  of  my  work  Deacon  Ja- 
son S.  Bliss  withdrew  from  the  church.  My  pastorate  is 
deeply  graven  on  my  heart  as  the  sphere  of  my  first  work 
in  the  ministry.  My  ordination  to  the  ministry,  the  coming 
of  my  wife,  a  bride,  into  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  the 
birth  of  my  son,  the  trials,  disappointments,  tears,  of  those 
years  are  on  record.  While  I  feel  the  deepest  gratitude  for 
the  success,  I  can  only  deeply  regret  that  more  souls  were 
not  brought  into  the  light.  I  rejoice  to  know  that  a  number, 
then  under  my  influence,  have  since  found  the  light.  My 
heart's  prayer  is  that  many  more  may  find  their  Saviour. 


xm 


